marry Hear it!

marry¹ Definition

marry (mar′ē)

transitive verb -·ried, -·ry·ing

    1. to join as spouses; unite in wedlock
    2. to join (a man) to a woman as her husband, or (a woman) to a man as his wife
  2. to take as spouse; take in marriage
  3. to join closely or intimately; unite

Etymology: ME marien < OFr marier < L maritare < maritus, a husband, married, prob. < IE base *meri, young wife, akin to *meryo, young man > Sans márya-, man, young man, suitor

intransitive verb

  1. to get married; take a spouse
  2. to enter into a close or intimate relationship; unite

marry¹ Related Forms

mar′·rier noun

marry¹ Idioms

marry off

to give in marriage they married off the last of their children

marry² Definition

marry (mar′ē)

Archaic used to express surprise, anger, etc., or, sometimes, merely to provide emphasis

Etymology: euphemistic respelling of (the Virgin) Mary

marry Synonyms

marry

v.

  1. To take a spouse

    wed, espouse, enter the matrimonial state, contract matrimony, promise in marriage, pledge in marriage, mate, take a helpmate, lead to the altar, bestow one's hand upon, take the vows, plight one's troth, become one, tie the knot, double up, get hooked, get hitched.

    Antonyms divorce*, put away*, reject. *

  2. To join in wedlock

    unite, give, join in matrimony, pronounce man and wife, mate, pair up with, couple, partner; see also join 1.

    Antonyms divorce*, annul*, separate.

marry Usage Examples

Object

  • heiress: Originally a shield was subdivided when the shield-bearer married an heiress from another armigerous family.
  • daughter: In 1794 he left the service and married the daughter of Richard Brown, mineral dealer and marble worker.
  • widow: Marrying a widow or widower brings its own special challenges.
  • princess: Jack: Um - yes, I might like to marry a princess some day.
  • wife: He doesn't marry one wife he marries two.
  • girl: Military service often accounted for a Lincolnshire lad serving in Essex or Kent, perhaps marrying a local girl, then returning home.

Subject

_machinery!_: My daughters wooed, engaged and married by _machinery!_ And you're only eighteen; do you hear me?

Modifying Another Word

  • happily: I thought one day I'd be happily married.
  • twice: He was married twice, first to Anna Massey in 1958.
  • secondly: Henry Townshend married secondly in 1887 Catherine Clara Paget ( née Cradock ) who had children by her first husband.
  • abroad: Also includes full details of where to get married abroad.

Used with why or when

  • who: It got very confusing as to who wanted to marry who at the beginning.
  • when: You ask, Why? It is because the LORD sees how you treated the wife you married when you were young.

Preposition: in

  • ceremony: The happy pair, who are visiting Edinburgh for the first time, were married in a 30-minute ceremony.
  • church: A puzzle is that he is under the Jewish community, I thought he was Catholic, he married in a Catholic church.

Preposition: with

  • daughter: Married with one daughter, she lives in Notting Hill Gate, London.
  • son: On a more personal note, Julia is married with two sons.
  • child: Mr Freeman, who is married with three children, plans to pay off his £ 80,000 loan in 12 years.

Preposition: since

1960s: They have been married since the 1960s and are still happily married to each other.

Preposition: by

_machinery!_: My daughters wooed, engaged and married by _machinery!_ And you're only eighteen; do you hear me?