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View synonyms for

wife

1

[wahyf]

noun

plural

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

  2. a woman (archaic or dial., except in idioms).

    old wives' tale.



verb (used with or without object)

wifed, wifing 
  1. Rare.wive.

-wife

2
  1. 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.

wife

/ ɲɪ /

noun

  1. a man's partner in marriage; a married woman

  2. an archaic or dialect word for woman

  3. to marry (a woman)

“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
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Other Word Forms

  • wifedom noun
  • wifeless adjective
  • wifelessness noun
  • ˈɾڱ adjective
  • ˈɾڱǴǻ noun
  • ˈɾڱԱ noun
  • ˈɾڱ adjective
  • ˈɾڱˌ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of wife1

before 900; Middle English, Old English ī woman; cognate with Dutch wijf, German Weib, Old Norse ī
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Word History and Origins

Origin of wife1

Old English ī; related to Old Norse ī (perhaps from īathr veiled), Old High German ī (German Weib )
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. take to wife, to marry (a particular woman).

    He took an heiress to wife.

see under wives.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

A year before, Davis and his wife, sculptor Karon Davis, joined four storefronts on Washington Boulevard in Arlington Heights to create the Underground Museum.

From

He also wounded State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their home.

From

A man who is accused of killing a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband, and injuring another state lawmaker and his wife, allegedly attempted to kill two other state lawmakers, Minnesota officials said on Monday.

From

Marieangela King, Allman’s estranged wife, expressed support for her husband and spoke about his “unwavering commitment to sobriety and his loyalty to those he loves” in a statement to People.

From

Authorities say he then targeted state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their home, about nine miles from the Hortmans.

From

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Related Words

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When To Use

is a basic definition ofwife?

A wife is a married woman.The word wife is often used when a woman’s marital status is important to the current topic. For example, a man might explain to a salesperson that he is  looking for a present for his wife, which is a lot more helpful than saying he is buying a gift for “a woman.”The plural of wife is wives. A man who is married is called a husband. A woman whose marital partner has died is called a widow.



  • Real-life examples: Queen Isabella I of Castille was the wife of King Ferdinand II of Aragon. King Henry VIII infamously had six wives (but one at a time!). If you are married to a woman, then she is your wife.


  • Used in a sentence: My uncle has never been married and says he has no interest in finding a wife.  


Sometimes, a modifier is used with wife to be more specific about a woman’s marital partner.



  • Used in a sentence: The documentary explored the lives of prison wives.


Some married people prefer gender-neutral terms, such as spouse or partner. The choice is up to the people in the marriage.

When To Use

does -wife mean?

The combining form -wife is used like a suffix to mean “wife" or, more generally, "woman." It’s used in a variety of terms, especially in reference to professions, but it’s relatively uncommon except for in a few words.The form -wife comes from Old English ī, meaning “woman.” ī was eventually combined with mann, which was then a gender-neutral term for an adult person, to create īmann, the source of the modern word woman. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entry for -woman. are variants of -wife?Just as the word wives is used as a plural form of the word wife, the ending -wives is often used as a plural form of -wife, as in midwives.

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.

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