wedded also wed; wedding

transitive verb

1
: to take for wife or husband by a formal ceremony : marry
2
: to join in marriage
3
: to unite as if by marriage: such as
a
: to place in close or intimate association
films that made me conscious of the power of wedding image to musicGerald Early
b
: to link by commitment or custom
was wed to the old ways

intransitive verb

: to enter into matrimony
wedder noun

Examples of wed in a Sentence

They will wed in the fall. The actress wed her fourth husband last year. The novel weds tragedy and comedy. His new writing job wedded his love of words and his eye for fashion.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The break-up, announced in January, was a surprise because Carter, who succeeded Paul Keel as chief executive in March 2024, had run both Smiths Detection and Smiths Interconnect earlier in his career and some investors perceived him as wedded to them. Ian King, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2025 One of my favorite books about the Constitution, by historian Michael Kammen, argues the paradox of Americans’ relationship to the Constitution is that people appear to be so wholly wedded to a document that so few have ever read for themselves. Big Think, 10 Oct. 2025 The film weds Jewish mysticism and slow-creeping horror with all the anxiety of new lesbian love. Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025 Still, Benny says, they were never wedded to being a duo. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wed

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wedden, from Old English weddian; akin to Middle High German wetten to pledge, Old English wedd pledge, Old High German wetti, Goth wadi, Latin vad-, vas bail, security

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wed was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wed. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

wed

verb
wedded also wed; wedding
1
: to take, give, or join in marriage : marry
2
: to unite firmly as if by marriage

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