DictionaryAI

married

MAIR-eed/ˈmɛɹ.id/UKMA-rid/ˈmæɹ.ɪd/

5 meanings of married

Practice

  1. 1
    wedadjective
    Living in a state of marriage, having a husband or a wife.

    She got married last summer in a small garden ceremony.

    Married couples filing jointly may qualify for tax benefits.

    Usagemarried to someone (not incorrect: married with someone). Get married for the wedding, be married for the state.

    Similarwedded

    Oppositesingle, unmarried

  2. 2
    verb
    Simple past and past participle of marry.

    The couple married after a long engagement.

    He has married into a large farming family.

    UsageNo preposition before the partner: she married a farmer (not incorrect: married with a farmer). A person also marries into a family.

    Similarwed

    Note

    One past form covers quite different roles, because marry itself does. You can say the couple married, she married a farmer, her father married her to a neighbor, or the priest married them. In the last two, the subject is the arranger or the officiant, not a spouse. With be, the line from the adjective blurs: "they were married in June" reports a ceremony, while "they were married for decades" describes a state.

  3. 3
    of marriageadjective
    Relating to marriage or to the part of a person's life spent as someone's husband or wife.

    In the first years of their married life, the couple rented a tiny apartment above a bakery.

    She signs her paintings with her maiden name but uses her married name at work.

    UsageBefore a noun: married life, her married name, the surname taken at marriage.

    Similarmarital, wedded, conjugal

    Oppositemaiden

    Note

    Its natural partner here is maiden, as in maiden name, the surname a woman used before marriage, which is why married name and maiden name so often appear as a pair.

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    devotedadjectivefiguratively
    Strongly committed or devoted to something, with an attachment of the kind usually reserved for a spouse.

    The senator is married to an outdated ideology and will not compromise.

    After thirty years in research, she remains married to the belief that patience beats shortcuts.

    UsageUsually married to something. I'm not married to it says you are happy to change or drop a plan.

    Similarwedded, devoted, committed, attached

  2. 5
    nouncountable
    A person who is in a state of marriage.

    The survey found that marrieds and singles spend their weekends in very different ways.

    The workshop offered financial advice aimed at young marrieds.

    UsageMostly plural, often young marrieds or marrieds and singles; it sounds odd for one named person.

    Oppositesingle

married is a form of marry

marry, verb: To become someone's husband or wife; to take someone as a spouse, or to get married. Full entry

Forms
marrymarries he/she/itmarrying -ing formmarried past tense, past participle
Spelling
marry → married: change y to i, add -ed

Practice

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Origin

It comes from the Middle English "maried," the past participle of "marien" ("to marry"), essentially "marry" plus the ending "-ed."

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

  • Married comes from Middle English maried, the past participle of marien, meaning 'to marry', and is equivalent to marry plus -ed. en.wiktionary.org