married
Americanadjective
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having a husband or wife
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joined in marriage
a married couple
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of or involving marriage or married persons
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closely or intimately united
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of married
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at marry 1, -ed 2
Explanation
Married people are legally committed to each other — they're joined in marriage, or wedded. Even though you may feel emotionally committed to your mate, you need to legally tie the know to be considered married. A married couple has made an official, legal agreement to be partners. If your many brothers and sisters are all married, it means you have a lot of sisters- and brothers-in-law (the spouses of your siblings). You can also use married to describe things that have something to do with marriage: "Those two are the picture of married bliss." The Latin root of married is maritare, "to wed or to marry."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Unlike Faye, Knoll is happily married to her husband, financial technology executive Greg Cortese.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Never married, publicly partnered or linked romantically with a woman, the senator consistently denied he was gay in the face of barbs, jokes and speculation.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Burrell married her husband Alex earlier this year, saying in a post on social media that it "feels so nice" to marry after many years together.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
“The greatest net loss of taxpayers was among married filers with incomes between $100,000 and $500,000—a net loss of 8,200, or more than half of the total net out-migration, in 2024,” the comptroller’s office says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Peter and I were married for almost sixty years.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.