WIFE


Meaning of WIFE in English

wife S1 W1 /waɪf/ BrE AmE noun ( plural wives /waɪvz/) [countable]

[ Language: Old English ; Origin: wif 'woman, wife' ]

the woman that a man is married to ⇨ husband , spouse :

Have you met my wife?

a refuge for battered wives

his second wife

ex-wife/former wife

He threatened to kill his ex-wife’s boyfriend.

• • •

THESAURUS

■ husband/wife etc

▪ husband/wife the man/woman you are married to:

My wife’s a teacher.

▪ partner the person you live with and have a sexual relationship with. Partner is often used when people are not married, or when you do not know if they are married. It is also used when talking about same-sex couples:

He lives with his partner Ruth and their eight-month-old son.

▪ fiancé/fiancée the man/woman you are engaged to:

He and fiancée Wendy Hodgson will marry in July.

▪ divorcee a woman who is divorced:

The Prince announced his intention to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.

▪ widow/widower a woman or man whose husband or wife has died:

Imelda Marcos, the widow of the former President

▪ spouse formal your spouse is your husband or wife:

The rule applies to spouses and children of military personnel.

▪ estranged wife/husband formal someone’s estranged husband or wife is one who they do not live with anymore:

She is trying to get her sons back from her estranged husband.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.