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wife

wife

1.0
A married woman who is someone's partner
  • noun
  • /waɪf/
translation icon : esposa
  • "Now that you have told us the news, my wife will retire to her room."
  • husband and wife
  • wife and mother
  • wife and children

And that's when your wife needs you the most.

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Examples

  • In the bedroom, my wife turned on the hair dryer for the third time.

    Academic text (2011)
  • And that's when your wife needs you the most.

  • My son lives with my wife and her new husband.

  • Love God first and love your wife next.

  • And it was something that my wife and I thought up.

  • I have a loving wife and a son.

  • A man that finds a wife finds a good thing.

  • Babe Brother, you ought to take your wife home so she can get some rest.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Mrs. Campbell, though, was a soldier's wife and applied for the major's protection.

    Academic text (2011)
  • He took his wife on a romantic vacation to celebrate their anniversary.

Synonyms

partner
vswife
878 1.1

A husband, wife, or long-term companion in a romantic relationship

is specifically a married woman rather than a general romantic companion
spouse
vswife
272 1.0

A person who is married to someone

is specific to a married woman rather than any gender
wifey
vswife
  • Slang
14 7.9

A woman someone treats as their ideal partner for a long time

is the neutral formal term for a married woman
goodwife
vswife
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A married woman who manages the home in old times

is the modern neutral term for a married woman

Antonyms

1.0

A man who is married

Idioms

to take a wife
  • Archaic
5 9.2

To marry a woman

Compounds

man and wife
  • Archaic
24 4.0

A married couple made of a man and a woman

trophy wife
  • Offensive
8 6.5

An attractive younger wife of a rich older man seen mainly as a way to show wealth

1 2.5

A woman who used to be married to someone

Lot's wife
  • Literature
1 9.9

A woman in the Bible who turned into a pillar of salt after looking back at Sodom

1 9.1

A woman whose husband is in prison

A woman who helps run a farm and home in the countryside

Lot's wife
  • Literature
9.9

A person who keeps looking back at the past instead of moving on

A right that stops a spouse from being forced to tell private conversations with their spouse during marriage in court

9.9

A small blue and bronze fish that lives near coral reefs from Florida to Brazil

How Affectionate

wifey
  • Slang
14 7.9
better half
  • Informal
14 3.3
wife
1.0
partner
878 1.1
girlfriend
1.0

Surface Forms

wife singular
wives plural

Etymology

Wife comes from the old English word wīf, which meant 'woman' or 'female'. That's why wife today means a married woman, and you can still see the same root in midwife, where wife also refers to 'woman'.