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.
Carl Jones said he and his partner of 20 years haven't wed because even the simplest weddings are too expensive.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The pair were wed in Seoul's presidential Blue House when her father Roh Tae-woo led the country from 1988 to 1993.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
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
He attributes much of that bliss to his marriage to Schmidt, an art curator, writer and photographer whom he wed in 2017.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
He thinks of his parents, strangers until this moment, two people who had not spoken until after they were actually wed.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
We went around the long dinner table, illuminated by a fireplace, and read what we’d scribbled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
"I discovered that he was still in there almost two years after we'd had the funeral," she said, describing the discovery as "distressing".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Absent consistent, transparent proof points, we’d expect the market’s tolerance for incremental capex to narrow,” the analyst added as he lowered his price target to $400 a share from $417.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
We always stayed in touch, almost every week or so and we'd usually talk about our ailments and then about what we'd been doing that particular week.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
“Hey there,” she calls, and I wonder if she knows how weird it is that Jonah and I are together right now, or if she never noticed we’d stopped hanging out.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
“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 ● 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 ● May 12, 2019
"All schools in Wetzel County will be closed on Wed. Feb. 28, 2018, due to the stars beginning to align," the district announced, cryptically, on the state department of education's website.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2018
Film work, however illustrious, was almost an adjunct to the career and legacy of Ruby Dee, who died Wed. at 91 at her New Rochelle, N.Y., home.
From Time ● Jun. 12, 2014
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
Sophie Piper, who came third on their All Star season, and TikTok star GK Barry also shared their support with the newly weds.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The resulting book, a deliberately meandering account of her Steel City sojourn, weds memoir, travelogue, philosophical rumination and journalistic investigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
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 ● 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 ● Sep. 4, 2022
"I love you as much as I ever have, my lord. Though I do not relish being played for a fool. If Myrcella weds Trystane Martell, she can scarcely wed Robert Arryn, can she?"
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Yes, he was so wedded to it, this idea that different, new mediums liberate the ones that come before.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
It would be unusual for a new superintendent from the outside to be wedded to Chait’s strategic plan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
“But I’m wedded to my phone,” I told the Apple Genius Bar technician last month when she wanted to keep it for an iOS update overnight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
They are, Mr. Wooldridge writes, wedded to three adamant ideas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
"Best we get Princess Daenerys wedded quickly before they hand half the wealth of Pentos away to sellswords and bravos," Ser Jorah Mormont jested.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
No information on the upcoming wedding has been released.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
“The Drama” has Robert Pattinson and Zendaya spiraling right before a wedding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
His wife, Linsey Devey, shared on Instagram that the couple was a few days shy of their 15th wedding anniversary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
She said she didn't want bells and whistles - or even a wedding dress.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
“He probably just ran away to keep Mrs. Brenner from wedding him off.”
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
