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.
to contract marriage; marry.
to become united or to blend.
a building that will wed with the landscape.
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.
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
See contraction.
First recorded before 900; Middle English wedde, Old English weddian “to pledge, marry, get married”; cognate with German wetten “to bet,” Old Norse vethja “to pledge”
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 — 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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Initially, Joe and Angela don’t look so different from the pictures of couples we’ve seen before: harried and married, dead when they wed.
From Salon • Jul. 5, 2026
Swift's longtime publicist Tree Paine confirmed to the BBC that the two wed on Friday in New York City and offered details from the ceremony.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2026
Now, rumors that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce may wed at the arena have revived interest in its unusual matrimonial history.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026
Before being snapped up by the spouses, who wed in 2015, the home—which is located in the Hill Country—had been on the market for just $685,000, having initially been listed for $849,000 in January 2015.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026
But O-lan said simply, “I will see you wed and then I must die.”
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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.
