marry

1 of 2

verb

mar·​ry ˈmer-ē 

ˈma-rē

married; marrying; marries

transitive verb

1

a

: to join in marriage according to law or custom

b

: to find a marriage partner for (someone, especially one's child)

They married their son to the daughter of a close friend.

trying to marry their children off

c

: to take as spouse : wed

married the girl next door

d

: to perform the ceremony of marriage for

a priest will marry them

e

: to obtain by marriage

marry wealth

2

: to unite in close and usually permanent relation

intransitive verb

1

: to take a spouse : wed

He first married at twenty.

2

: combine, unite

seafood marries with other flavors

marry

2 of 2

interjection

archaic

—used for emphasis and especially to express amused or surprised agreement

Phrases

marry into

: to become a member of by marriage

married into a prominent family

Synonyms

Verb

• wed

Examples of marry in a Sentence

Verb

He married his college sweetheart.

I asked her to marry me.

“Will you marry me?” “Yes, I will.”

They married for love, not money.

The minister has married more than 100 couples.

They hope to have a priest marry them.

They were married by a justice of the peace.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The former couple were married for 10 years before announcing their split on Jan. 13. —Angel Saunders, People.com, 21 May 2025

The whiskey was married in this special cask for six months. —Tony Sachs, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025

Such work marries human expertise with computational heft. —Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025

Rutherford is an appealing leading lady, able to marry both Agathe’s seeming awkwardness (and some most excellent bits of physical humor) and her deep introspection into something fresh and flinty. —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 20 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English marien, from Anglo-French marier, from Latin maritare, from maritus married

Interjection

Middle English marie, from Marie, the Virgin Mary

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Interjection

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing marry

• marry into money
• marry money

Rhymes for marry

• aerie
• airy
• arie
• barre
• cherry
• clary
• dairy
• eyrie
• faerie
• faery
• fairy
• ferry

Kids Definition

marry

1 of 2 verb

mar·​ry ˈmar-ē 

married; marrying

1

: to join in marriage according to law or custom

they were married by a priest

2

: to give in marriage

married their children off

3

: to take as husband or wife

married a singer

4

: to enter into a marriage relationship : wed

decided to marry

5

: to enter into a close union

working long hours, she is married to her job

marry

2 of 2 interjection

archaic

—used to express amused or surprised agreement

Etymology

Verb

Middle English marien "to marry," from early French marier (same meaning), derived from Latin maritus "married"

Interjection

Middle English marie, an interjection, from Marie "the Virgin Mary"