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:
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
Just days after Kelce and Swift wed, it was revealed that the pup had become such a key part of their lives that it even played a role in their wedding celebrations.
From MarketWatch โ Sep. 7, 2026
The A-list couple joined a long line of celebrities who have wed in New York City, where Swift has owned property for more than a decade.
From MarketWatch โ Sep. 7, 2026
But in 2000, aged 66, she wed David Bale, a South African-born entrepreneur-environmentalist, and father of actor Christian Bale.
From BBC โ Sep. 3, 2026
Mr. Pecksniff quit the firm, bet on the horses, and wet his whistle, then wed his sweetheart in a suit that fit him perfectly.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
"I didn't think ever in my lifetime I would be in a position where we'd get crowds the size that we do," Hunt told Rugby Union Weekly.
From BBC โ Sep. 25, 2026
You and I might imagine these things, but we’d be wrong.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 24, 2026
I’ve admired George Lucas — I used to have a relative in Marin County, and growing up, we’d go to lunch, and I’d see George Lucas and his family.
From Los Angeles Times โ Sep. 23, 2026
"The best guide is experimental data, and that's what we'd really like to have," he said, to study quantum gravity, which he calls "the most profound problem in theoretical physics."
From Science Daily โ Sep. 23, 2026
What we’d been able to see from the other side is only a small fraction of the archives this room must maintain: rows and rows of shelves.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
“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
Throughout “Saxophone Colossus,” he weds his extensive research to a feel for detail and narrative; the book is certainly long, but it has too much great reporting to be dry.
From Los Angeles Times โ Nov. 14, 2022
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
“Yes, is she not lovely, though so sad! Her dress is well chosen, too, for in a week she weds Count Antonio, whom she passionately hates.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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
It would be unusual for a new superintendent from the outside to be wedded to Chait’s strategic plan.
From Los Angeles Times โ Jun. 24, 2026
They remained wedded to the smaller TV window of a simultaneous start for all of their competitors.
From BBC โ Apr. 30, 2026
Based on Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola’s 2021 “The Trip,” “Over Your Dead Body” concerns a couple whose wedded bliss has faded along with their professional prospects.
From Los Angeles Times โ Apr. 24, 2026
“In the ten days since our marriage night was disrupted, my wedded joys are all turned to sorrow. Now Hamlet finds quarrel with my virtue, but there is no cause.”
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Teresa, a former nurse, said Oban had been the couple's home for 50 years and they marked their golden wedding anniversary in hospital.
From BBC โ Sep. 28, 2026
Local governments are betting that a wedding wave will also have a side benefit: more tourism and spending in an otherwise gloomy economy.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 27, 2026
But wedding culture is evolving alongside the soaring cost of buying a home.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 26, 2026
We're having to apologise to people who turned up to our wedding and kindly gave us money.
From BBC โ Sep. 26, 2026
There is nothing like a palace wedding to draw a fashionable crowd.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Definitions 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.
