wife

[ wahyf ]

/ waɪf /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wife ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural wives [wahyvz] /waɪvz/.

a married woman, especially when considered in relation to her partner in marriage.

a woman (archaic or dial., except in idioms): old wives' tale.

verb (used with or without object), wifed, wif·ing.

Rare. wive.

Nearby words

wienie, wiesbaden, wieschaus, wiesel, wiesenthal, wife, wife swapping, wife-beater, wifehood, wifelike, wifely

Idioms

take to wife, to marry (a particular woman): He took an heiress to wife.

Origin of wife

before 900; Middle English, Old English wīf woman; cognate with Dutch wijf, German Weib, Old Norse vīf

Related forms

wife·dom, nounwife·less, adjectivewife·less·ness, noun

Definition for wife (2 of 2)

-wife

a combining form of wife, now unproductive, occurring in compound words that in general designate traditional roles or occupations of women: fishwife; goodwife; housewife; midwife.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wife

His wife passed away and they had kids, and he wanted to focus on being a dad so he just stopped to raise his kids.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The band was still on its way back as De Blasio and his wife departed.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
So when my wife and I moved to Laurel Canyon I spent my first year working night and day on the show.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Through my wife [McCauley is married to singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton].
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll|James Joiner|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

My wife answered and thought it was a friend impersonating the governor.
President Cuomo Would’ve Been a Lion|Jonathan Alter|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You have fifteen rum-shops to meet before you get back to your wife and child.
A Singular Life|Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
He was accompanied by his wife and two of her young lady friends.
Home Life of Great Authors|Hattie Tyng Griswold
If I was to write to my mother,' says he, 'that my wife had left me, I believe it would be the death of her.
The Land of Long Ago|Eliza Calvert Hall
The sultan now visits his wife, and tells her of the death of Nuzhat.
Filipino Popular Tales|Dean S. Fansler
But in talking about his own son's wife, no word as to her eligibility or non-eligibility in this respect escaped his lips.
The Last Chronicle of Barset|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for wife

wife

/ (waɪf) /

noun plural wives (waɪvz)

a man's partner in marriage; a married womanRelated adjective: uxorial

an archaic or dialect word for woman

take to wife to marry (a woman)

Derived Forms

wifehood, nounwifeless, adjectivewifelike, adjectivewifeliness, noun

wifely, adjective

Word Origin for wife

Old English wīf; related to Old Norse vīf (perhaps from vīfathr veiled), Old High German wīb (German Weib)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with wife

wife

see under wives.