wed

¹ American  

[wed] / wɛd /

verb (used with object)

wedded, wed, wedding

1. to marry (another person) in a formal ceremony.

2. to unite (a couple) in marriage or wedlock; marry.

3. to bind by close or lasting ties; attach firmly.

   She wedded herself to the cause of economic justice.

4. to blend together or unite inseparably.

   a novel that weds style and content perfectly.

   Synonyms:

   merge, fuse, combine

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verb (used without object)

wedded, wed, wedding

1. to contract marriage; marry.

2. to become united or to blend.

   a building that will wed with the landscape.

we'd ² American  

[weed] / wid /

1. contraction of we had:

   Sometimes I wish we'd bought a bigger house.

2. contraction of we would:

   Of course we'd be happy to donate to the school's fundraiser.

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Wed. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Wednesday.

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wed ¹ British  

/ wɛd /

verb

1. to take (a person of the opposite sex) as a husband or wife; marry

2. (tr) to join (two people) in matrimony

3. (tr) to unite closely

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Wed. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Wednesday

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we'd ³ British  

/ wɪd, wiːd /

contraction

1. we had or we would

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Usage

See contraction.

Other Word Forms

• interwed verb (used without object)interwed, interwedded, interwedding
• rewed verb
• unwed adjective

Etymology

Origin of wed

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”

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 — 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

Historically, women who wed royals have faced intense pressure to produce sons and some family members are regular subjects of online and media gossip.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

If he is going to allow his parents and his salary to dictate whether or not you wed, that’s a choice, and it implies that the answer may be hiding in plain sight.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 14, 2026

They wed when Biden was 18 and Stevenson was 23.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

The two wed in Hong Kong in 2018, and their daughter was born later that year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

She was a crofter’s daughter, she loved me and she wed me, she put her trust in me.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Related Words

• dedicate
• marry