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.
Walt sold WED to his entertainment company in 1965.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 10, 2026
They worked on the studio lot but were technically employees of an independent company called WED Enterprises, which was wholly owned by its namesake, Walter Elias Disney.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 10, 2026
“If you really look at that group within WED, and in Disneyland, you’ll see an incredible team. Walt seemed to know how to get the correct group of people together.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2023
“By mid-2020, all of the hard money loans were in default, and WED Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,” the indictment said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2022
I have lost them all, and shall WED accordingly.
From Byron's Poetical Works, Volume 1 by Coleridge, Ernest Hartley
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.
