spouse

noun \ ˈspau̇s also ˈspau̇z \

|Updated on: 14 Aug 2018

Examples: spouse in a Sentence

Definition of spouse

: married person : husband, wife

—

spousal

play \ˈspau̇-zəl, -səl\ adjective

See spouse defined for English-language learners

See spouse defined for kids

Examples of spouse in a Sentence

my brothers and sisters and their spouses
employees and their spouses are covered by the health plan

Recent Examples of spouse from the Web

Producer and spouse Allan Glaser said Hunter died Sunday of a blood clot in his leg that caused cardiac arrest.

— sasha savitsky, Fox News, "'Damn Yankees!' star Tab Hunter dead at 86," 10 July 2018
Higher-earning spouses could afford to be more generous in the past, thanks to the tax write-off that came with supporting an ex.

— brittany shoot, Fortune, "Financial Planners Are Warning Wealthy Clients That Trump's Tax Reform Is Making Divorce Much More Expensive," 9 July 2018
Depending on the severity of the situation, one spouse may want to take the lead on splitting your remaining cash.

— nathan bachrach, Cincinnati.com, "How to deal with a 'forced retirement'," 27 June 2018
Gaslighting happens in personal relationships (think an abusive spouse or, in rarer cases, parent), in professional relationships (a manipulative boss or coworker preying on a subordinate), and even by public figures.

— sarah digiulio /, NBC News, "What is gaslighting? And how do you know if it's happening to you?," 13 July 2018
On Wednesday afternoon at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in the Brussels suburb of Waterloo, Mrs. Trump participated in a program for NATO spouses that included a fashion show and chocolate tasting.

— robin givhan, Houston Chronicle, "Nothing else Melania Trump wears will ever matter again," 13 July 2018
French First Lady Brigitte Macron was also on hand, as were other spouses.

— fiona ma | wwd, latimes.com, "Melania Trump wears Calvin Klein for concert outing during NATO summit, Elie Saab for evening festivities," 11 July 2018
Brandon Johnson had no spouse or children and no will.

— bruce vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mother opposes father's share of settlement in son's death at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex," 6 July 2018
Most of the office’s recent occupants have combined spouse-supporting symbolism with a set of pet policies.

— molly ball, Time, "Melania Trump Is Redefining One of the World’s Weirdest Jobs," 28 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of spouse

Middle English, from Anglo-French espus (masculine) & espuse (feminine), from Latin sponsus betrothed man, groom & sponsa betrothed woman, bride, both from sponsus, past participle of spondēre to promise, betroth; akin to Greek spendein to pour a libation, Hittite šipant-

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year