espouse
verb /ɪˈspaʊz/
/ɪˈspaʊz/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they espouse | /ɪˈspaʊz/ /ɪˈspaʊz/ |
| he / she / it espouses | /ɪˈspaʊzɪz/ /ɪˈspaʊzɪz/ |
| past simple espoused | /ɪˈspaʊzd/ /ɪˈspaʊzd/ |
| past participle espoused | /ɪˈspaʊzd/ /ɪˈspaʊzd/ |
| -ing form espousing | /ɪˈspaʊzɪŋ/ /ɪˈspaʊzɪŋ/ |
- espouse something to give your support to a belief, policy, etc.
- They espoused the notion of equal opportunity for all in education.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryEspouse is used with these nouns as the object:- belief
- idea
- ideal
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘take as a spouse’): from Old French espouser, from Latin sponsare, from sponsus ‘betrothed’, past participle of spondere.