husband

noun

hus·band | \ ˈhəz-bənd

Definition of husband

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a male partner in a marriage her husband of forty years

2 British : the manager of another's property : steward

3 : a frugal manager speaks his whole mind gaily, and is not the cautious husband of a part— W. B. Yeats

husband

verb

husbanded; husbanding; husbands

Definition of husband (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to manage prudently and economically a country that has husbanded its resources well

b : to use sparingly : conserve must husband one's strength

2 archaic : to find a husband for : mate

Other Words from husband Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about husband

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Synonyms & Antonyms for husband

Synonyms: Noun

hubby, man, mister, old man

Synonyms: Verb

conserve

Antonyms: Verb

blow, dissipate, fritter (away), lavish, misspend, run through, squander, throw away, waste

Examples of husband in a Sentence

Noun

Have you met her husband? she and her husband just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary

Verb

The country has husbanded its resources well. husband our natural resources so that our children and grandchildren may benefit from them

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Like Bey's Coachella set, the documentary will include a focus on family, as the trailer teased intimate moments between Bey, her husband, and their kids. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Beyoncé's Homecoming Netflix Documentary: Everything You Need to Know," 8 Apr. 2019 Many took it as a not-so-subtle dig at her ex-husband and Oklahoma native, Blake Shelton, who was sitting in the audience with his current girlfriend Gwen Stefani. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "Reba McEntire Had the Sassiest Response to Miranda Lambert's Public Dig at Blake Shelton," 8 Apr. 2019 Later, Mary is captured in her sewing room, sitting on a cutting desk with a glass of wine, checking a fitting with her husband and business partner Alexander Plunket Greene. — Sarah Mower, Vogue, "Mary Quant and Her Chelsea Girls Swing Into London’s V&A Museum," 5 Apr. 2019 While Robert Venturi, her late husband and business partner was awarded a Pritzker Prize in 1991, she was denied one. — Charles Curkin, ELLE Decor, "The 2019 ELLE Decor Architecture A-List," 5 Feb. 2019 However, Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has been known to simply sign with his first name. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Real Reason the Queen Signs Her Name as "Elizabeth R"," 14 Mar. 2019 Among the wealthy parents caught were actress Lori Loughlin and her husband fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'The View' Stars Joy Behar and Meghan McCain Got Heated Over the College Admissions Scandal," 13 Mar. 2019 Though clad in the fashions of the time, the unfaithful wife is Aphrodite, the goddess of love; her handsome paramour is Ares, the god of war; and the outraged husband who has snared the cheating pair in a powerful golden mesh is... — Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, "Children’s Books: Love and War as the Meddling Gods Look On," 1 Mar. 2019 Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady were married ten years ago today, and the supermodel celebrated with one of her (annual) adorable Instagram declarations of love to her husband. — Carrie Goldberg, Harper's BAZAAR, "Gisele Bündchen Just Released a Never-Before-Seen Photo From Her Wedding Day," 26 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

As this novel pushes forward, however, Gessen’s patience, his ability to husband his resources, begins to pay off. — New York Times, "Struggling to Love, Work and Do the Right Thing in Putin’s Russia," 9 July 2018 Most farmers drew their water from canals extending from the Washakie Reservoir, which was usually filled by Memorial Day and carefully husbanded until August, when irrigation needs became strong. — John Fialka, Scientific American, "A Wyoming Reservation Shows the New Face of Drought," 6 June 2018 Although desires may be infinite, the means available are not, and good commanders set priorities, build alliances and husband their resources. — John Nagl, WSJ, "‘On Grand Strategy’ Review: The War Against Decline and Fall," 16 Apr. 2018 His favorite example is an oyster-husbanding pilot project on a barge off of downtown. — Jeanette Steele, sandiegouniontribune.com, "New Port of San Diego chairman is a 43-year-old lawyer," 9 Jan. 2018 After Pearl Harbor, Chiang Kai-shek realized that his fate depended on the outcome of the new war between Japan and the U.S., and tried to husband his remaining forces. — David Kaiser, Time, "The War That Started 80 Years Ago Wouldn't Happen Today. We Can Still Learn From It," 7 July 2017 Kenya Moore has finally shared photos from her secret wedding to husband Marc! — Karen Mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "RHOA's Kenya Moore Shares Photos From St. Lucia Wedding to Husband Marc," 20 June 2017 The rigged bidding process allowed GDMA to inflate prices for its husbanding services supplying items such as security, food and trash removal to visiting Navy ships at various ports. — Kristina Davis, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Singapore executives plead guilty in 'Fat Leonard' Navy scandal," 9 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'husband.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.