husband

play

noun hus·band \ ˈhəz-bənd \

Definition of husband

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

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husbandly

adjective

See husband defined for English-language learners

See husband defined for kids

Examples of husband in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of husband from the Web

Some surprised her with their seeming nonchalance in the face of tragedy, like the man who was trapped in his home, and the woman whose husband had died.

— matt sedensky, The Seattle Times, "‘Hell’s breaking loose’: A 911 center under siege by Harvey," 30 Aug. 2017
About the owners: Bissonnette and her husband also own Bartlett's Gourmet Grill & Tavern, 131 E. Dunes Highway (U.S. 12), Beverly Shores, and the Bartlett's Truckin' Good Grub food truck.

— jessi virtusio, Post-Tribune, "Bartlett's Fish Camp features fresh raw oysters," 30 Aug. 2017
Expect Brent Grimes’ wife to make plenty of noise in the stands, but her husband’s old team gets the last laugh on the field.

— adam h. beasley, miamiherald, "Predicting the 2017 Dolphins season: A game-by-game breakdown," 30 Aug. 2017
Given its disappointing reception, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, had the stone recut and polished—a process that reduced its size by half but made the light refract more brilliantly from its surface.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The True Story of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond—And Why the British Won’t Give It Back," 30 Aug. 2017
In the new clip, though, Andy is shown diffusing a potentially even more awkward situation when Miranda's husband comes over and starts making rude and aggressive comments to the CEO of the magazine's parent company a.k.a.

— zoe weiner, Glamour, "This 'Devil Wears Prada' Deleted Scene Tells a Completely Different Story," 30 Aug. 2017
Nibert’s husband encouraged her to report the man to human resources.

— joe marusak and maria david, charlotteobserver, "Fired Wells Fargo worker claims boss asked her to cook dinner for him in the nude," 30 Aug. 2017
Greg Zanis, who traditionally places memorials at scenes of tragedy, set up three white wooden crosses in the front yard after speaking to Steve Henning, Celisa's husband and the twins' father.

— alicia fabbre, Daily Southtown, "Joliet mom, twin daughters had gunshot wounds to head, coroner says," 29 Aug. 2017
Bryant’s husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother J.W. Milam, were acquitted by an all-White jury for the brutal murder.

— paula rogo, Essence.com, "Emmett Till Was Murdered 62 Years Ago, But Sadly, America Is More Of The Same," 28 Aug. 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.

Origin and Etymology of husband

Middle English husbonde, from Old English hūsbonda master of a house, from Old Norse hūsbōndi, from hūs house + bōndi householder; akin to Old Norse būa to inhabit; akin to Old English būan to dwell — more at bower

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

husband Synonyms

Synonyms

hubby, man, mister, old man

Related Words

better half, companion, consort, mate, partner, significant other, spouse; Mr. Right; soul mate; bridegroom, groom; benedict; widower; househusband

husband

verb

Definition of husband

transitive verb

1 a :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

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husbander

noun

See husband defined for English-language learners

Examples of husband in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of husband from the Web

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

Origin and Etymology of husband

see ¹husband

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

husband Synonyms

Synonyms

conserve

Antonyms

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

Related Words

economize, save, scrimp, skimp; preserve, protect, save; hoard, lay by, lay up

Near Antonyms

clean (out), consume, deplete, drain, exhaust, expend, impoverish, spend, use up

HUSBAND Defined for English Language Learners

husband

play

noun

Definition of husband for English Language Learners

: a married man : the man someone is married to

husband

verb

Definition of husband for English Language Learners

: to carefully use or manage (something, such as a resource)

HUSBAND Defined for Kids

husband

play

noun hus·band \ ˈhəz-bənd \

Definition of husband for Students

:a male partner in a marriage

husband

verb

Definition of husband for Students

husbanded; husbanding

:to manage with thrift :use carefully

I've learned to husband my money.

Learn More about husband

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husband

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