wife swapping

Save This Word!

noun

sexual activity in which two or more married couples exchange partners.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of wife swapping

First recorded in 1955–60

Words nearby wife swapping

wife, wifebeater, wifehood, wifelike, wifely, wife swapping, wifey, Wi-Fi, wig, wigan, wigeon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use wife swapping in a sentence

In straight relationships with an age gap, words like ‘gold-digger’ and ‘trophy wife’ get thrown around.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic|Samantha Allen|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
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
Except for maybe his brainiac wife… but she could do better anyway.
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt|Melissa Leon|January 3, 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
But Mrs. Dodd, the present vicar's wife, retained the precious prerogative of choosing the book to be read at the monthly Dorcas.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
And that was that if he and his wife were to ever live together again and be happy, the family were to be kept out of it.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
His wife stood smiling and waving, the boys shouting, as he disappeared in the old rockaway down the sandy road.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
To Harrison and his wife there was no distinction between the executive and judicial branches of the law.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
The Authorised Version has: “And as a mother shall she meet him, and receive him as a wife married of a virgin.”
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway

British Dictionary definitions for wife swapping

wife swapping

noun

the temporary exchange of wives between married couples for sexual relations
(as modifier)a wife-swapping party

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