wed
verb (used with object)
to marry (another person) in a formal ceremony.
Trivia Time
Where did Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer wed in 1981?
wed
1 American
[wed]
/ wษd /
verb (used with object)
-
weds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wed,
past participle, past
-
wedded,
past participle, past
-
wedding
present participle
-
to marry (another person) in a formal ceremony.
-
to unite (a couple) in marriage or wedlock; marry.
-
to bind by close or lasting ties; attach firmly.
She wedded herself to the cause of economic justice.
-
to blend together or unite inseparably.
a novel that weds style and content perfectly.
verb (used without object)
-
weds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wed,
past participle, past
-
wedded,
past participle, past
-
wedding
present participle
-
to contract marriage; marry.
-
to become united or to blend.
a building that will wed with the landscape.
we'd
2
American
[weed]
/ wid /
-
contraction of we had:
Sometimes I wish we'd bought a bigger house.
-
contraction of we would:
Of course we'd be happy to donate to the school's fundraiser.
Wed.
3
American
abbreviation
wed
1
British
/ wษd /
verb
-
to take (a person of the opposite sex) as a husband or wife; marry
-
(tr) to join (two people) in matrimony
-
(tr) to unite closely
Wed.
2
British
abbreviation
we'd
3
British
/ wษชd, wiหd /
contraction
Usage
See contraction.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wedsimple
-
wedssimple
-
have wedperfect
-
have weddedperfect
-
has wedperfect
-
has weddedperfect
-
am weddingprogressive
-
are weddingprogressive
-
is weddingprogressive
-
have been weddingperfect progressive
-
has been weddingperfect progressive
Past
-
wedsimple
-
weddedsimple
-
had wedperfect
-
had weddedperfect
-
was weddingprogressive
-
were weddingprogressive
-
had been weddingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wed
First recorded before 900; Middle English wedde, Old English weddian โto pledge, marry, get marriedโ; cognate with German wetten โto bet,โ Old Norse vethja โto pledgeโ
Explanation
To wed is to get married to someone. Your dream might be to wed your dream spouse in Hawaii some day. The verb wed is mainly used in a formal context โ marry is more common. You can also use either word to mean "join in marriage" or "perform a marriage ceremony," like when the Archbishop of Canterbury weds members of British royalty. Wed shares a Germanic root with words in various languages meaning "pledge," but also "bet or wager."
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:
Still, fortune eventually smiles upon them, and they meet again and wed before a tragedy sends Benjamin fleeing back to the sea, and eventually to America.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Oct. 22, 2026
The 34-year-old singer and actress purchased the six-bedroom, 8.5-bathroom dwelling for $4.89 million in 2020, around three years before she began dating Benny Blanco, 38, whom she wed in September 2025.
From MarketWatch โ Sep. 24, 2026
The problem is, the brand—and, to some extent, its management—is wed to a specific kind of go power: the charismatic flat-four engine and mechanically linked all-wheel drive.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 19, 2026
A newly wed Malaysian couple who had just spent a week in Bali said they were told that the next flight back to Kuala Lumpur wouldn't be until 11 September.
From BBC โ Sep. 7, 2026
Every now and then someone in the house moved out, to live with a woman whom his family back in Calcutta had determined he was to wed.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"Honestly, we were not certain that we'd keep our stay," an Indian businessman in a pricey Paris hotel said, declining to give his name.
From Barron's โ Oct. 21, 2026
Sometimes the rechargeable batteries flagged, and we’d pull a pager out of rotation.
From Salon โ Oct. 17, 2026
Then we’d figure out what to do with it, and what it will do to us.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Oct. 15, 2026
Once he’s managed to hurl himself past the surf to rest atop an underwater cliff, the darkness below is as scary as if we’d regressed into primordial prey.
From Los Angeles Times โ Oct. 15, 2026
He hadn’t been back to see me yet, but I supposed he’d heard about Mr. Lew’s illness and knew that we’d be busy taking care of him.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
“The US Supreme Court began hearing the Brunson case yesterday Wed. 21 June, continued today 22 June and should have a decision out by Saturday 24 June,” an Instagram post states.
From Seattle Times โ Jun. 30, 2023
Intended to cure loneliness on Wed. evenings and to allow people to get to know each other under circumstances other than formal MFU course.
From Salon โ May 12, 2019
Closed Wed. $10-$25; members and children 17 and under, free.
From Los Angeles Times โ Jun. 2, 2018
Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW; Wed. through June 25, various times and prices.
From Washington Post โ Jun. 16, 2016
Viewing will be at Snowberger’s at 7pm on Wed. evening, and visitation will be at 2pm before the funeral at 3pm on Thurs.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
Wedding photographer Michael Carver had wanted to capture a picture of newly weds with the Northern Lights for the last 10 years.
From BBC โ Sep. 20, 2023
While Dbeibah has sought to consolidate his position with new roads, better power supplies or social benefits such as payouts to newly weds, faction leaders have complained about corruption in state spending.
From Reuters โ Aug. 17, 2023
Martin's "Fire & Blood," Alicent is 18 when she weds the 27-year-old Viserys, while Rhaenyra is only 9.
From Salon โ Sep. 4, 2022
Jules’s new moped doubles as a genre-movie gimmick that weds classicism and modernity.
From New York Times โ Apr. 28, 2022
“Claudius not only wears my father's crown, but he weds my father's wife!” he said in a tone of disbelief.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
They are unique in that they earn on average more than four times the average worker, but they have little control over the management of the company they have wedded themselves to, often for life.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 16, 2026
Of course, Alonso insists he won't be wedded to either of a back three or four but it was this system used as Chelsea beat AC Milan 3-0 a week ago.
From BBC โ Aug. 15, 2026
“Our customers are wedded to the strategy of buying dips, and that’s worked very well for them. But if you do that indiscriminately, at some point, you can morph from dip-buyer to bag-holder,” Sosnick said.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Jul. 6, 2026
Yes, he was so wedded to it, this idea that different, new mediums liberate the ones that come before.
From Salon โ Jul. 5, 2026
And Aragorn the King Elessar wedded Arwen Undómiel in the City of the Kings upon the day of Midsummer, and the tale of their long waiting and labours was come to fulfilment.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
At Quince, though, you can return a wedding band for one year and an engagement ring for 60 days.
From MarketWatch โ Oct. 22, 2026
On her character’s wedding day, Colman traipses into the church like it’s a prank, then nervously straightens up as she realizes this ceremony is serious.
From Los Angeles Times โ Oct. 22, 2026
We’d eat it with forks, still dressed in our wedding finery.
From Salon โ Oct. 20, 2026
The schisms at Westish are mirrored in Pella’s deteriorating relationship with Mike, which collapses during Owen’s glitzy destination wedding on Block Island, R.I.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Oct. 19, 2026
‘It’d be a miracle if he remembered our wedding anniversary one year,’ she’d say, and we’d all laugh.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ยฉ Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritageยฎ Idioms Dictionary copyright ยฉ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
