married

[ mar-eed ]

/ ˈmær id /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR married ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

united in wedlock; wedded: married couples.

of or relating to marriage or married persons; connubial; conjugal: married happiness.

(of an antique) created from components of two or more authentic pieces.

interconnected or joined; united.

(of a family name) acquired through marriage.

noun

Usually marrieds. married couples or married people: young marrieds moving into their first home.

RELATED WORDS

united, joined, marital, espoused

Nearby words

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

[ mar-ee ]

/ ˈmær i /

verb (used with object), mar·ried, mar·ry·ing.

to take in marriage: After dating for five years, I finally asked her to marry me.

to perform the marriage ceremonies for (two people); join in wedlock: The minister married Susan and Ed.

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.

to unite intimately: Common economic interests marry the two countries.

to take as an intimate life partner by a formal exchange of promises in the manner of a traditional marriage ceremony.

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.

Nautical.

to lay together (the unlaid strands of two ropes) to be spliced.
to seize (two ropes) together end to end for use as a single line.
to seize (parallel ropes) together at intervals.

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.

to wed.

(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

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

Examples from the Web for married

You can still get your license at the court—just not actually get married there.
The Back Alley, Low Blow-Ridden Fight to Stop Gay Marriage in Florida Is Finally Over|Jay Michaelson|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was the finest moment of my life in 1986 when I married him.
Fergie Dives Into Prince Andrew’s Sex Scandal|Tom Sykes|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
McCauley may have married beneath her station, but Gordon-Levitt has obsessive fans.
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt|Melissa Leon|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
May their married life have laughter, and that they love one another forever after!
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt|Melissa Leon|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Through my wife [McCauley is married to singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton].
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll|James Joiner|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It might have been before—I don't know whether she got married here, or she met him in Texas.
Warren Commission (8 of 26): Hearings Vol. VIII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
She is married now and lives at Ashland, and has two nice children, a boy and a girl.
How To Do It|Edward Everett Hale
Her meaning had been, from her earliest years, to marry, or be married.
The Maid of Sker|Richard Doddridge Blackmore
In a few months after this proof of true love they were married.
Welsh Folk-Lore|Elias Owen
Alcolomb he made his wife, and her mother he married to his vizier.
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol 1|The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.

British Dictionary definitions for married

married

/ (ˈmærɪd) /

adjective

having a husband or wife

joined in marriagea married couple

of or involving marriage or married persons

closely or intimately united

noun

(usually plural) a married person (esp in the phrase young marrieds)

marry

/ (ˈmærɪ) /

verb -ries, -rying or -ried

to take (someone as one's partner) in marriage

(tr) to join or give in marriage

(tr) to acquire (something) by marriagemarry money

to unite closely or intimately

(tr sometimes foll by up) to fit together or align (two things); join

(tr) nautical

to match up (the strands) of unlaid ropes before splicing
to seize (two ropes) together at intervals along their lengths

Word Origin for marry

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

marry

/ (ˈmærɪ) /

interjection

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

married

adj.

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

marry

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.

married

adjective

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of married

marry

verb (used with object), mar·ried, mar·ry·ing.

verb (used without object), mar·ried, mar·ry·ing.

Origin of marry

Examples from the Web for married

married

adjective

noun

marry

verb -ries, -rying or -ried

Word Origin for marry

marry

interjection

Word Origin for marry

married

marry

marry