husband

noun

/ˈhʌzbənd/

(also informal hubby)

Idioms

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the man that somebody is married to; a married man
- This is my husband, Steve.
- How did you meet your husband?
- She's finally decided to leave her husband.
- She lost her husband (= he died) recently.
- her late husband
- his husband of four years
- It had been a shock to find himself a husband and father.
see also house husband
Collocations Marriage and divorce
Marriage and divorceRomance
- fall/be (madly/deeply/hopelessly) in love (with somebody)
- be/believe in/fall in love at first sight
- be/find true love/the love of your life
- suffer (from) (the pains/pangs of) unrequited love
- have/feel/show/express great/deep/genuine affection for somebody/something
- meet/marry your husband/wife/partner/fiancé/fiancée/boyfriend/girlfriend
- have/go on a (blind) date
- be going out with/(especially North American English) dating a guy/girl/boy/man/woman
- move in with/live with your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner
Weddings
- get/be engaged/married/divorced
- arrange/plan a wedding
- have a big wedding/a honeymoon/a happy marriage
- have/enter into an arranged marriage
- call off/cancel/postpone your wedding
- invite somebody to/go to/attend a wedding/a wedding ceremony/a wedding reception
- conduct/perform a wedding ceremony
- exchange rings/wedding vows/marriage vows
- congratulate/toast/raise a glass to the happy couple
- be/go on honeymoon (with your wife/husband)
- celebrate your first (wedding) anniversary
Separation and divorce
- be unfaithful to/(informal) cheat on your husband/wife/partner/fiancé/fiancée/boyfriend/girlfriend
- have an affair (with somebody)
- break off/end an engagement/a relationship
- break up with/split up with/ (informal) dump your boyfriend/girlfriend
- separate from/be separated from/leave/divorce your husband/wife
- annul/dissolve a marriage
- apply for/ask for/go through/get a divorce
- get/gain/be awarded/have/lose custody of the children
- pay alimony/child support (to your ex-wife/husband)
Extra Examples
- She lost her husband to cancer a year ago.
- She suddenly walked out on her husband, leaving him to bring up the children.
- That was the day she met her future husband.
- He is her second husband.
Topics Family and relationshipsa1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- future
- prospective
- suitable
- …
verb + husband
- find
- meet
- marry
- …
phrases
- husband and wife
See full entry
Word Originlate Old English in the senses ‘male head of a household’ and ‘manager, steward’, from Old Norse húsomebodyóndi ‘master of a house’, from hús ‘house’ + bóndi ‘occupier and tiller of the soil’. The original sense of the verb was ‘till, cultivate’.

Idioms

husband and wife

a man and woman who are married to each other
- They lived together as husband and wife (= as if they were married) for years.
- a husband-and-wife team

husband

verb

/ˈhʌzbənd/

(formal)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they husband	/ˈhʌzbənd/ /ˈhʌzbənd/
he / she / it husbands	/ˈhʌzbəndz/ /ˈhʌzbəndz/
past simple husbanded	/ˈhʌzbəndɪd/ /ˈhʌzbəndɪd/
past participle husbanded	/ˈhʌzbəndɪd/ /ˈhʌzbəndɪd/
-ing form husbanding	/ˈhʌzbəndɪŋ/ /ˈhʌzbəndɪŋ/

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husband something to use something very carefully and make sure that you do not waste it
- Times are hard and we have to husband our resources.
- She waited, husbanding her strength for her next visitors.
Word Originlate Old English in the senses ‘male head of a household’ and ‘manager, steward’, from Old Norse húsomebodyóndi ‘master of a house’, from hús ‘house’ + bóndi ‘occupier and tiller of the soil’. The original sense of the verb was ‘till, cultivate’.