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domestic partner
The definition of a domestic partner refers to someone other than a husband or wife with whom you are in a committed, serious and usually permanent relationship.
(noun)An example of a domestic partner is a man or woman's homosexual life partner.
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See domestic partner in Webster's New World College Dictionary
either partner () of an unmarried heterosexual or homosexual couple in a relationship () considered as being equivalent to marriage for the purpose of extending certain legal rights and employment benefits
See domestic partner in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
A person, other than a spouse, with whom one cohabits.
Usage Note: Many people would now agree that a couple can consist of persons living together who are not married or who are not of opposite sexes. How to refer to such a couple, though, has posed an interesting challenge. Many new words have been coined and tested over the last 25 years, including spouse-equivalent or spousal equivalent; POSSLQ (person of the opposite sex sharing living quarters), pronounced (pŏsˈəl-kyo͞oˌ) and originally used as a U.S. Census Bureau designation; and companion or lifelong (or longtime) companion. But these have never been in or have fallen out of general use. Thus the linguistic situation seems to reflect the continuing flux of the social situation. • Two other terms, significant other and domestic partner, however, have seen widespread use since at least 1985 as all-purpose words for describing a spouse or a lover. Over 75 percent of Usage Panelists feel these terms can be applied to members of either straight or gay couples. Domestic partner has been used by an increasing number of companies and organizations in drafting benefits plans that include all members of such relationships. The term is often shortened to partner, especially in unofficial situations. Learn more about domestic partner
