wife

[ wahyf ]
See synonyms for wife on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural wives [wahyvz]. /waɪvz/.
  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, wif·ing.
  1. Rare. wive.

Idioms about wife

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

Origin of wife

1
before 900; Middle English, Old English wīf woman; cognate with Dutch wijf,German Weib,Old Norse vīf

Other words from wife

  • wifedom, noun
  • wifeless, adjective
  • wife·less·ness, noun

Words Nearby wife

Other definitions for -wife (2 of 2)

-wife

  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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wife in a sentence

  • But Mrs. Dodd, the present vicar's wife, retained the precious prerogative of choosing the book to be read at the monthly Dorcas.

  • 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.

  • 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

wife

/ (waɪf) /


nounplural wives (waɪvz)
  1. a man's partner in marriage; a married woman: Related adjective: uxorial

  2. an archaic or dialect word for woman

  1. take to wife to marry (a woman)

Origin of wife

1
Old English wīf; related to Old Norse vīf (perhaps from vīfathr veiled), Old High German wīb (German Weib)

Derived forms of wife

  • wifehood, noun
  • wifeless, adjective
  • wifelike, adjective
  • wifeliness, noun
  • wifely, adjective

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with wife

wife

see under wives.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.