wedding
Americannoun
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weddings
plural
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the anniversary of a marriage, or its celebration.
They invited guests to their silver wedding.
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the act or an instance of blending or joining, especially opposite or contrasting elements.
a perfect wedding of conservatism and liberalism.
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Business Slang. a merger.
adjective
noun
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the act of marrying or the celebration of a marriage
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( as modifier )
wedding day
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the anniversary of a marriage (in such combinations as silver wedding or diamond wedding )
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the combination or blending of two separate elements
Synonym Usage
See marriage.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of wedding
First recorded before 900; Middle English “matrimony, wedlock, marriage,” Old English weddung “betrothal”; see origin at wed, -ing 1
Explanation
A wedding is a celebration or ceremony of marriage. Besides being a formal way to mark the union of two people, weddings can be a lot of fun too. The earliest meaning of wedding was simply "the state of being married," but by the early 1400s it meant the ceremony or rite at the very beginning of a marriage. A wedding can be a simple civil ceremony at City Hall or an elaborate event that takes place over several days and involves religious rituals, food and drink, and hundreds of guests. As an adjective, wedding describes anything related to the ceremony, like wedding cakes and wedding dresses.
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:
Carrero, already a poet, scholar, political organizer and nightlife host, would flaunt yet another title that weekend as wedding officiant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
A person with direct knowledge of the matter told the outlet that Zacharia took the exam around the same time that she was planning a wedding and preparing to move to China with her husband-to-be.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
There are a few components to the strategy: Pearl Planner, an AI-based wedding planning tool for brides, and Pearl Connect, an AI-powered platform for wedding vendors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
And when I emailed a wedding photographer whose Instagram feed seemed perfectly curated to how I envision our special day, he quoted me $30,000 for a starter package.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Maggie was twenty-two and talked of wedding dresses and honey-mooning in Italy.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Lately, many of these young people are getting married, so life has been filled with weddings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Plus, the money saved on food can be redirected toward an open bar — which we all know is the real reason people go to weddings.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
In many cases, the bereaved don’t attend weddings or celebrations for up to a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Since then, I’ve baked the cake for countless weddings, birthdays and gender reveals.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
There were several letters about distant relatives dying, school and job acceptance letters, invitations to weddings.
From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
