husband

The word “husband” means a man who is married to someone. In plain terms, a married man, in relation to his spouse. As a verb (less common today), it means to use resources sparingly and wisely.

“Husband” is pronounced HUHZ-buhnd (/ˈhʌzbənd/ in IPA).

Here is “husband” used in a sentence: “Her husband picked her up from the airport.”

Words with a similar meaning to “husband” include baron, his lordship, hubby, lord and master and old man.

The opposite of “husband” — its antonyms — is wife.

Depending on how it is used, “husband” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “husband” comes from Old English. From Old English husbonda, a compound of hus ("house") and a form of the Old Norse word for a resident or master — originally meaning "master of the house," long before it narrowed to mean specifically a married man.

“Husband” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

'Husband' specifically means a married man. 'Spouse' is a gender-neutral term for either married partner — a husband or a wife. So a husband is always a spouse, but 'spouse' is the broader word, useful on forms and in law when the person's gender is unspecified or irrelevant.

A husband is a man joined to someone by marriage. A 'partner' is a broader term for someone in a committed relationship, married or not, and it does not specify gender. People often say 'partner' before marriage, for unmarried couples, or simply to keep a relationship's details private.

In a marriage, the counterpart to a husband is a wife — a woman who is married to someone. 'Husband' and 'wife' are the traditional paired terms for the two people in a marriage. The neutral word covering either role is 'spouse,' and together they form a married couple.

'Husband' comes from an old Norse word meaning 'master of the house' or 'householder,' combining the sense of 'house' with someone who dwells in or manages it. Over time its meaning narrowed from a male head of a household to specifically a married man, the sense used today.