spouse
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Usage
What does spouse mean? Someone’s spouse is the person who they’re married to—their partner in marriage.A spouse who’s a man is often called a husband, while a spouse who’s a woman is often called a wife. The word partner is a gender-neutral way to refer to one’s spouse. People most commonly use one of these terms when talking about or introducing their spouse, as opposed to using the word spouse. The word spouse is more commonly used in formal or official contexts, such as on forms that require family relations to be specified.An adjective form of spouse is spousal, meaning relating to or involving marriage, as in Does this insurance plan provide spousal coverage?Example: If you and your spouse file your taxes jointly, you may be eligible for certain rebates.
Other Word Forms
- spousehood noun
- spouseless adjective
- unspoused adjective
Etymology
Origin of spouse
First recorded in 1150–1200; (for the noun) Middle English, from Old French spous (masculine), spouse (feminine), shortened from espous, espouse, from Latin spōnsus, spōnsa, literally, “pledged (man, woman),” noun uses of past participle of spondēre “to pledge”; (for the verb) Middle English spousen, from Old French esp(o)user; espouse
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.
Many states also provide a surviving spouse with a minimum “elective” share — that is, the right to take a share of a deceased spouse’s property.
From MarketWatch
“Being good or bad at them has nothing to do with being a good person, parent, man, woman, spouse, friend,” Davis writes.
From Salon
Losing a spouse is a profound emotional blow, and it often triggers a second crisis: a financial fog of legal hurdles and hidden tax traps.
She attended virtual career fairs for military spouses—her husband is a veteran—and researched companies in advance.
Later, she moved to Las Vegas with her second husband, eye surgeon Edwin Hill, whom Barry Rothman called “the spouse she wanted and wished she had had earlier in her life.”
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.
