wife

¹ American  

[wahyf] / waɪf /

noun

plural

wives

1. a married woman, especially when considered in relation to her partner in marriage.

2. a woman (archaic or dial., except in idioms).

   old wives' tale.

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verb (used with or without object)

wifed, wifing

1. Rare. wive.

idioms

1. take to wife, to marry (a particular woman).

   He took an heiress to wife.

-wife ² American  

1. a combining form of wife, now unproductive, occurring in compound words that in general designate traditional roles or occupations of women.

   fishwife; goodwife; housewife; midwife.

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wife British  

/ waɪf /

noun

1. a man's partner in marriage; a married woman

2. an archaic or dialect word for woman

3. to marry (a woman)

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wife More Idioms  

1. see under wives.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of wife? A wife is a married woman. The word wife is often used when a woman’s marital status is important to the current topic. For example, a man might explain to a salesperson that he is  looking for a present for his wife, which is a lot more helpful than saying he is buying a gift for “a woman.”The plural of wife is wives. A man who is married is called a husband. A woman whose marital partner has died is called a widow.

• Real-life examples: Queen Isabella I of Castille was the wife of King Ferdinand II of Aragon. King Henry VIII infamously had six wives (but one at a time!). If you are married to a woman, then she is your wife.
• Used in a sentence: My uncle has never been married and says he has no interest in finding a wife.  

Sometimes, a modifier is used with wife to be more specific about a woman’s marital partner.

• Used in a sentence: The documentary explored the lives of prison wives.

Some married people prefer gender-neutral terms, such as spouse or partner. The choice is up to the people in the marriage.

What does -wife mean? The combining form -wife is used like a suffix to mean “wife" or, more generally, "woman." It’s used in a variety of terms, especially in reference to professions, but it’s relatively uncommon except for in a few words. The form -wife comes from Old English wīf, meaning “woman.” Wīf was eventually combined with mann, which was then a gender-neutral term for an adult person, to create wīfmann, the source of the modern word woman. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entry for -woman. What are variants of -wife?Just as the word wives is used as a plural form of the word wife, the ending -wives is often used as a plural form of -wife, as in midwives.

Other Word Forms

• wifedom noun
• wifehood noun
• wifeless adjective
• wifelessness noun
• wifelike adjective
• wifeliness noun
• wifely adjective

Etymology

Origin of wife

before 900; Middle English, Old English wīf woman; cognate with Dutch wijf, German Weib, Old Norse vīf

Example Sentences

Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele, 70, were found by their daughter Romy when she went to their home the afternoon of Dec. 14.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

The court heard Francis arrived at the pub with his wife after a family barbecue to celebrate her birthday and their wedding anniversary on the day of the attack.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

“In hindsight, what this has done for our community, I am truly sorry, what it’s done to my family, my wife, my children.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Brian Hooker told CBS News shortly after his release that he wants to believe his wife is still alive and plans to go back out to look for her as soon as possible.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

If the matchmaker hasn’t found a satisfactory arrangement for Ruby, I’ve met a widowed merchant who needs a wife to help his parents in a village outside Guangdong.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• bride
• companion
• partner
• roommate
• spouse