bridal
Americanadjective
noun
-
a wedding.
-
Archaic. a wedding feast.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- bridally adverb
- prebridal adjective
Etymology
Origin of bridal
before 1100; Middle English bridale wedding feast, Old English brȳdealu, equivalent to brȳd bride 1 + ealu ale, i.e., ale-drinking; now taken as bride 1 + -al 1
Explanation
Use the adjective bridal to talk about a wedding or a bride. A bridal bouquet is the arrangement of flowers the bride carries during a wedding ceremony. Usually the word bridal describes anything having to do with a bride, like the bridal veil or the bridal party, or the bride's friends and family. Sometimes bridal refers to the newlywed couple, like the bridal suite they might stay in at a hotel on their honeymoon. Remember, bridal has nothing to do with horses — that's bridle, which sounds the same but means part of a harness.
Vocabulary lists containing bridal
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 5
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Commonly Confused Words, List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Still, I empathize with your desire to cut costs as being in a bridal party is expensive: the average cost of being a bridesmaid is almost $2,000, including the bachelorette party, according to The Knot.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 8, 2025
“His longer-term strategy, Grow Brand Love, which focuses on driving growth in self-purchase and gifting through design-led product, while continuing to expand in bridal, appears to be gaining traction.”
From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025
In the original, a proud redheaded pirate is the lead prisoner in a bridal auction, but today the “wench” has graduated to pirate status of her own and is helping to auction off stolen goods.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2025
The fashion designer and bridal boutique owner sympathizes with retailers grappling with the penny problem.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025
“Come on, Ayesha is getting ready in the bridal room.”
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
