wife

noun

plural wives ˈwīvz How to pronounce wife (audio)
1
a
dialect : woman
b
: a woman acting in a specified capacity
used in combination
fishwife
2
: a female partner in a marriage
wifehood
ˈwīf-ˌhu̇d How to pronounce wife (audio)
ˈwī-ˌfu̇d
noun
wifeless adjective

Examples of wife in a Sentence

We met him and his wife. a husband and wife who treat each other as equals in their marriage
Recent Examples on the Web In this rendition, the doctor’s wife, Katherine, has died, giving their daughter Petra more responsibility. Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2024 The narrator in the story believes that Uncle Usama’s propensity to violence emanates from his difficult and unhappy relationship with his wife. Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024 Webber and his wife Zoe are co-founders of the Summit Foundation, which works with other charitable organizations to create programs to help young people. George Ramsay, CNN, 25 Mar. 2024 Sadly, McLean, a wife and mother of three, suffered a medical emergency on March 18 and passed away at the age of 61. Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2024 His second wife, Michelle Ghent, filed a restraining order against him in 2011, accusing him of domestic abuse. Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 24 Mar. 2024 Future Cats Tony winner Buckley, 76, was brought on as a mother figure to replace Diana Hyland, who had previously played Tom’s wife Joan. Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 24 Mar. 2024 Brown centered much of his speech around the parallels between his aunt Vera and his recent role as Cliff — who is newly out of the closet after divorcing his wife — in American Fiction, which earned the actor his first Oscar nomination. Nicole Fell, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2024 Shortly after Biden was elected to the Senate in 1972, his first wife and baby daughter were killed in a car crash that also badly injured Beau and his younger brother Hunter. Chris Megerian, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wife.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wif, from Old English wīf; akin to Old High German wīb wife and probably to Tocharian B kwīpe female pudenda

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of wife was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near wife

Cite this Entry

“Wife.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wife. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wife

noun
plural wives ˈwīvz How to pronounce wife (audio)
1
dialect : woman sense 1
2
: a female partner in a marriage

More from Merriam-Webster on wife

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