- the state or relationship of living together in a legal partnership
- the legal union or contract made by two people to live together
- (as modifier): marriage licence, marriage certificate
- the religious or legal ceremony formalizing this union; wedding
- a close or intimate union, relationship, etc
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
mar•riage /ˈmærɪdʒ/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the institution under which a man and woman live as husband and wife under law:[uncountable]different customs of marriage.
- the state or relationship of being married: [uncountable]a happy state of marriage.[countable]Her last two marriages were unhappy.
- the ceremony that formalizes marriage:[countable]The marriage took place in her old parish church.
- [countable] an intimate living arrangement without permission from the law:a trial marriage.
- a close association in which there is blending of different elements:[countable]The car is a perfect marriage of power and performance.
mar•riage
(mar′ij),USA pronunciation n.
- the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.
- the state, condition, or relationship of being married;
wedlock:a happy marriage. - the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of a man and woman to live as husband and wife, including the accompanying social festivities:to officiate at a marriage.
- a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction:trial marriage; homosexual marriage.
- any close or intimate association or union:the marriage of words and music in a hit song.
- Businessa formal agreement between two companies or enterprises to combine operations, resources, etc., for mutual benefit;
merger. - a blending or matching of different elements or components:The new lipstick is a beautiful marriage of fragrance and texture.
- Games[Cards.]a meld of the king and queen of a suit, as in pinochle. Cf. royal marriage.
- Furniturea piece of antique furniture assembled from components of two or more authentic pieces.
- [Obs.]the formal declaration or contract by which act a man and a woman join in wedlock.
- Old French, equivalent. to mari(er) to marry1 + -age -age
- Middle English mariage 1250–1300
- 3. matrimony. Marriage, wedding, nuptials are terms for the ceremony uniting couples in wedlock. Marriage is the simple and usual term, without implications as to circumstances and without emotional connotations:to announce the marriage of a daughter.Wedding has rather strong emotional, even sentimental, connotations, and suggests the accompanying festivities, whether elaborate or simple:a beautiful wedding; a reception after the wedding.Nuptials is a formal and lofty word applied to the ceremony and attendant social events; it does not have emotional connotations but strongly implies surroundings characteristic of wealth, rank, pomp, and grandeur:royal nuptials.It appears frequently on newspaper society pages chiefly as a result of the attempt to avoid continual repetition of marriage and wedding. 5. alliance, confederation; weld, junction.
- 1. divorce.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
marriage /ˈmærɪdʒ/ n