wed

/wɛd/

/wɛd/

Other forms: wedding; wedded; weds

To wed is to get married to someone. Your dream might be to wed your dream spouse in Hawaii some day.

The verb wed is mainly used in a formal context — marry is more common. You can also use either word to mean "join in marriage" or "perform a marriage ceremony," like when the Archbishop of Canterbury weds members of British royalty. Wed shares a Germanic root with words in various languages meaning "pledge," but also "bet or wager."

Definitions of wed

1. verb

   take in marriage
   synonyms: conjoin, espouse, get hitched with, get married, hook up with, marry

   marry, splice, tie

   perform a marriage ceremony

   types:

   inmarry

   marry within one's own tribe or group

   mismarry

   marry an unsuitable partner

   wive

   marry a woman, take a wife

   wive

   take (someone) as a wife

   intermarry

   marry within the same ethnic, social, or family group

   remarry

   marry, not for the first time

   type of:

   unify, unite

   act in concert or unite in a common purpose or belief
2. verb

   perform a marriage ceremony
   “We were wed the following week”

   synonyms: marry, splice, tie

   conjoin, espouse, get hitched with, get married, hook up with, marry

   take in marriage

   types:

   solemnise, solemnize

   perform (the wedding ceremony) with proper ceremonies

   type of:

   officiate

   act in an official capacity in a ceremony or religious ritual, such as a wedding
3. adjective

   having been taken in marriage
   synonyms: wedded

   married

   joined in matrimony