husband

[ huhz-buhnd ]
See synonyms for husband on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a married man, especially when considered in relation to his partner in marriage.

  2. British. a manager.

  1. Archaic. a prudent or frugal manager.

verb (used with object)
  1. to manage, especially with prudent economy.

  2. to use frugally; conserve: to husband one's resources.

  1. Archaic.

    • to be or become a husband to; marry.

    • to find a husband for.

    • to till; cultivate.

Origin of husband

1
before 1000; Middle English husband(e), Old English hūsbonda master of the house <Old Norse hūsbōndi, equivalent to hūshouse + bōndi (bō-, variant of bū- dwell (see boor) + -nd present participle suffix + -i inflectional ending)

Other words for husband

Other words from husband

  • hus·band·er, noun
  • hus·band·less, adjective
  • un·hus·band·ed, adjective

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

How to use husband in a sentence

  • Will it increase the happiness of the infinite for me to remain homeless and husbandless?

  • In modern countries infanticide has been common or rare according to the penalties, in law or the mores, upon husbandless mothers.

    Folkways | William Graham Sumner
  • The State will have to become the protector of the husbandless mothers and the fatherless children.

    British Socialism | J. Ellis Barker
  • It was an awkward situation, this being shut up alone in a husbandless woman's house with an unknown intruder.

    The Kingdom Round the Corner | Coningsby Dawson
  • "Well, here are four husbandless women," she retorted gayly.

    A Little Girl in Old San Francisco | Amanda Minnie Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for husband

husband

/ (ˈhʌzbənd) /


noun
  1. a woman's partner in marriage

  2. archaic

    • a manager of an estate

    • a frugal person

verb
  1. to manage or use (resources, finances, etc) thriftily

  2. archaic

    • (tr) to find a husband for

    • (of a woman) to marry (a man)

  1. (tr) obsolete to till (the soil)

Origin of husband

1
Old English hūsbonda, from Old Norse hūsbōndi, from hūs house + bōndi one who has a household, from bōa to dwell

Derived forms of husband

  • husbander, noun
  • husbandless, 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