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definitions

married

[mar-eed]
See more synonyms for married on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. united in wedlock; wedded: married couples.
  2. of or relating to marriage or married persons; connubial; conjugal: married happiness.
  3. (of an antique) created from components of two or more authentic pieces.
  4. interconnected or joined; united.
  5. (of a family name) acquired through marriage.
noun
  1. Usually marrieds. married couples or married people: young marrieds moving into their first home.

Origin of married

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at marry1, -ed2
Related formsmar·ried·ly, adverbun·mar·ried, adjective, nounwell-mar·ried, adjective

marry

1
[mar-ee]
verb (used with object), mar·ried, mar·ry·ing.
  1. to take in marriage: After dating for five years, I finally asked her to marry me.
  2. to perform the marriage ceremonies for (two people); join in wedlock: The minister married Susan and Ed.
  3. to give in marriage; arrange the marriage of (often followed by off): Her father wants to marry her to his friend's son. They want to marry off all their children before selling their big home.
  4. to unite intimately: Common economic interests marry the two countries.
  5. to take as an intimate life partner by a formal exchange of promises in the manner of a traditional marriage ceremony.
  6. to combine, connect, or join so as to make more efficient, attractive, or profitable: The latest cameras marry automatic and manual features. A recent merger marries two of the nation's largest corporations.
  7. Nautical.
    1. to lay together (the unlaid strands of two ropes) to be spliced.
    2. to seize (two ropes) together end to end for use as a single line.
    3. to seize (parallel ropes) together at intervals.
  8. to cause (food, liquor, etc.) to blend with other ingredients: to marry malt whiskey with grain whiskey.
verb (used without object), mar·ried, mar·ry·ing.
  1. to wed.
  2. (of two or more foods, wines, etc.) to combine suitably or agreeably; blend: This wine and the strong cheese just don't marry.

Origin of marry

1
1250–1300; Middle English marien < Old French marier < Latin marītāre to wed, derivative of marītus conjugal, akin to mās male (person)
Related formsmar·ri·er, nounnon·mar·ry·ing, adjectiveun·mar·ry·ing, adjective
Can be confusedmarry Mary merry
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for married

united, joined, marital, espoused

Examples from the Web for married

Contemporary Examples of married

Historical Examples of married

  • To have married a girl who cared only for his money; that would have been dire enough.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • "And so he married money," concluded Mrs. Gwilt-Athelstan of one they had discussed.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Poor chap, and he'd been talkin' to me about the monotony of married life.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • If you had married him you'd 'a' had a position, like they say here, right away.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • If he had married her—if they were married now—then you would feel free to marry me?

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for married

married

adjective
  1. having a husband or wife
  2. joined in marriagea married couple
  3. of or involving marriage or married persons
  4. closely or intimately united
noun
  1. (usually plural) a married person (esp in the phrase young marrieds)

marry

1
verb -ries, -rying or -ried
  1. to take (someone as one's partner) in marriage
  2. (tr) to join or give in marriage
  3. (tr) to acquire (something) by marriagemarry money
  4. to unite closely or intimately
  5. (tr sometimes foll by up) to fit together or align (two things); join
  6. (tr) nautical
    1. to match up (the strands) of unlaid ropes before splicing
    2. to seize (two ropes) together at intervals along their lengths
See also marry up
Derived Formsmarrier, noun

Word Origin for marry

C13: from Old French marier, from Latin marītāre, from marītus married (man), perhaps from mās male

marry

2
interjection
  1. archaic an exclamation of surprise, anger, etc

Word Origin for marry

C14: euphemistic for the Virgin Mary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for married
adj.

"formally wedded," late 14c., from past participle of marry (v.).

marry

v.

c.1300, "to give (offspring) in marriage," from Old French marier "to get married; to marry off, give in marriage; to bring together in marriage," from Latin maritare "to wed, marry, give in marriage" (source of Italian maritare, Spanish and Portuguese maridar), from maritus (n.) "married man, husband," of uncertain origin, originally a past participle, perhaps ultimately from "provided with a *mari," a young woman, from PIE root *mari- "young wife, young woman," akin to *meryo- "young man" (cf. Sanskrit marya- "young man, suitor").

Meaning "to get married, join (with someone) in matrimony" is early 14c. in English, as is that of "to take in marriage." Said from 1520s of the priest, etc., who performs the rite. Figurative use from early 15c. Related: Married; marrying. Phrase the marrying kind, describing one inclined toward marriage and almost always used with a negative, is attested by 1824, probably short for marrying kind of men, which is from a popular 1756 essay by Chesterfield.

In some Indo-European languages there were distinct "marry" verbs for men and women, though some of these have become generalized. Cf. Latin ducere uxorem (of men), literally "to lead a wife;" nubere (of women), perhaps originally "to veil" [Buck]. Also cf. Old Norse kvangask (of men) from kvan "wife" (cf. quean), so "take a wife;" giptask (of women), from gipta, a specialized use of "to give" (cf. gift (n.)) so "to be given."

marry

interj.

a common oath in the Middle Ages, mid-14c., now obsolete, a corruption of the name of the Virgin Mary.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper