marry
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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marries,
present (3rd person singular)
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married,
past participle, past
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marrying
present participle
-
to take in marriage.
After being together for five years, I finally asked her to marry me.
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to perform the marriage ceremonies for (two people); join in wedlock.
The minister married Susan and Ed.
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to give in marriage; arrange the marriage of (often followed byoff ): They want to marry off all their children before selling their big home.
Her father wants to marry her to his friend's son.
They want to marry off all their children before selling their big home.
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to unite intimately.
Common economic interests marry the two countries.
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to take as an intimate life partner by a formal exchange of promises in the manner of a traditional marriage ceremony.
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to combine, connect, or join so as to make more efficient, attractive, or profitable: A recent merger marries two of the nation's largest corporations.
The latest cameras marry automatic and manual features.
A recent merger marries two of the nation's largest corporations.
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Nautical.
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to lay together (the unlaid strands of two ropes) to be spliced.
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to seize (two ropes) together end to end for use as a single line.
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to seize (parallel ropes) together at intervals.
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to cause (food, liquor, etc.) to blend with other ingredients.
to marry malt whiskey with grain whiskey.
verb (used without object)
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marries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
married,
past participle, past
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marrying
present participle
-
to wed.
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(of two or more foods, wines, etc.) to combine suitably or agreeably; blend.
This wine and the strong cheese just don't marry.
interjection
verb
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to take (someone as one's partner) in marriage
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(tr) to join or give in marriage
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(tr) to acquire (something) by marriage
marry money
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to unite closely or intimately
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to fit together or align (two things); join
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(tr) nautical
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to match up (the strands) of unlaid ropes before splicing
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to seize (two ropes) together at intervals along their lengths
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interjection
Pronunciation
See Mary.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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marrysimple
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marriessimple
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have marriedperfect
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has marriedperfect
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am marryingprogressive
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are marryingprogressive
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is marryingprogressive
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have been marryingperfect progressive
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has been marryingperfect progressive
Past
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marriedsimple
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had marriedperfect
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was marryingprogressive
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were marryingprogressive
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had been marryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of marry1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English marien, from Old French marier, from Latin marītāre “to wed,” derivative of marītus “conjugal,” akin to mās “male (person)”
Origin of marry2
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English Mari(e), marie, mare , euphemistic variant of Mary (the Virgin)
Explanation
To marry someone is to make an official, ceremonial commitment to be partners. You can marry someone in a church, barefoot on a beach, or in a courthouse. Some people marry their long-time sweethearts, while others abruptly choose to marry after knowing each other briefly. The officiant who leads the wedding ceremony, whether they're a judge or an ordained minister who's also an Elvis impersonator, is the person who marries the happy couple. The Latin root is maritare, "to wed or marry," and also "to give in marriage."
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.
See Examples For:
Needless to say, the young narrator soon yearns to marry the lovely and ethereal Blanche.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Between the hours Urschel spent fending off nose tackles and studying eigenvalue problems, he barely saw the woman he would marry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Although a techno remix of Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” was blasting in the video, the DJ’s lips are seen mouthing, “Will you marry me?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Since my longtime therapist’s behavioral approach had already helped rein in my personality enough to quit smoking and drinking, and marry a great guy, I decided to try his suggestion.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
To get her dad’s permission to marry her, he had to clear sixty acres of land in half a day, then plant and reap sixty acres of corn the other half.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
But he refuses to listen and marries her anyway.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
Golden Corral scrutinizes buffet waste, marries costly shrimp with cheaper hush puppies and mines data to make money off bottomless offerings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
In the novel, Nyathi's heroine, Joyce, believes she has married into a union of one man and one woman, yet her husband, Jonasi, marries and sets up homes with three other women behind her back.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
If your daughter is married or marries sometime in the future, she can decide how much of her inheritance will be commingled with her spouse’s finances.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
“I can assure you, it is still the same book. Same story. Charlotte marries Albert. Werther’s life ends just as unhappily.”
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
She is married to film producer Tyler Zacharia and they have four children.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
"Before I got married to Mick - we'd already been together seven years, had two children - I put on a wedding dress every day until he agreed that we get married," she revealed.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
The estate-tax exemption is currently $15 million for individuals and $30 million for married couples.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
The pair was first publicly spotted in November 2022 leaving Cafe Stella in Silver Lake; a month earlier, Reynolds announced his split from his wife, indie singer Aja Volkman, whom he married in 2011.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
She told everyone that her Johnnie would come home and they would be married.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
She escaped the control of her hard-driving father by marrying, only to see her creative life throttled as she competed for piano time with her husband.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
For more than 50 years, with a few breaks in between, Squeeze has been making memorable tunes by marrying infectious pop melodies with sophisticated and literate lyrics, often about the complexity of relationships.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
With a 25-year age gap between them, they were engaged a year later, marrying at The Plaza hotel in New York in 2000.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Blacknell said Linton called her sister and talked about possibly marrying the actor Will Smith and picking up her niece for school in the moments before the wreck.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
“Just flunked right out after three weeks and ended up marrying some rich guy. But not two months later, she ran off to Atlanta with that rich guy’s brother.”
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
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.
