Wed Meaning: Definition and Usage Guide

Meaning 1：get married (wed)

wed 🔊

/wɛd/

to officially become married to someone in a ceremony.

get married 🔊

➕

/ɡɛt ˈmɛrid/

To become husband and wife in a legal or religious ceremony.

📁 Category：Social Roles 🔖 Level：beginner

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English weddian 'to pledge', ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wadjan.

💡 Mnemonic

'Wed' is the core of 'wedding' – the ceremony where two people marry.

📖 Example

My grandparents wed in a simple village church over fifty years ago. 🔊 My grandparents wed in a simple village church over fifty years ago.

🔗 Collocations

get wed – to get married

wed someone – to marry someone

wed in a church – to have a wedding ceremony in a church

🔄 Synonyms

marry (v.) – to take someone as a spouse in a formal ceremony

get married (phrase) – to become wedded to someone

tie the knot (phrase) – informal expression meaning to get married

🚫 Antonyms

divorce (v.) – to legally end a marriage

separate (v.) – to stop living together as a married couple

annul (v.) – to declare a marriage invalid

🌱 Derivatives

wedding (n.) – the ceremony of getting married

wedded (adj.) – married or closely joined

wedlock (n.) – the state of being married

📖 Cultural Story

Wed originates from Old English weddian 'to pledge', referring to a solemn promise. Today it commonly means to get married in a formal ceremony.