married

MAIR-eed/ˈmɛɹ.id/UKMA-rid/ˈmæɹ.ɪd/

5 meanings of married

1
wedadjective
Joined to another person as a husband or wife.
Like two people who have promised to share their lives together.
They have been married for ten years.
My married sister lives just down the street.
UsageSay married to someone (not ~~incorrect: married with~~ someone). Get married means have the wedding.
Similarwedded
Oppositesingle, unmarried
2
verb
Past tense and past participle of marry. Use it for the past, or after has, had, or a form of be.
They married in a quiet ceremony last fall.
She married her college sweetheart.
UsageSay she married him, with no word between.
Similarwed
Note
3
of marriageadjective
Having to do with marriage, or with the time when someone has a husband or wife.
After ten years of married life, they still hold hands when they go for walks.
She kept her married name even after the divorce.
UsageBefore a noun: married life, a married name.
Similarmarital, wedded, conjugal
Oppositemaiden
Note

Less common meanings

4
devotedadjectivefiguratively
Strongly committed to something, as if it were your husband or wife.
Like being tied to something so closely it feels like a promise you can't break.
He is completely married to his work.
She is married to her old habits and refuses to try anything new.
UsageUsually married to something. I'm not married to it means I can change it.
Similarwedded, devoted, committed, attached
5
nouncountable
A person who has a husband or wife.
At the party, the marrieds sat at one table and the singles at another.
The young marrieds saved for months to buy a house.
UsageUsually marrieds, often young marrieds, for a group of people.
Oppositesingle

married is a form of marry

marry, verb: To become the husband or wife of someone. 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

This is the past participle of the Middle English verb "marien," meaning "to marry."

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Married derives from the past participle of the Middle English verb marien, meaning “to marry.” en.wiktionary.org