wife

The word “wife” means a married woman, in relation to her spouse. In plain terms, a married woman, seen in relation to her husband or spouse.

“Wife” is pronounced waf (/wæf/ in IPA).

Here is “wife” used in a sentence: “He introduced Sarah as his wife.”

Words with a similar meaning to “wife” include ball and chain, better half, boss, bride, dutch and 'er indoors.

The opposite of “wife” — its antonyms — are husband and were.

“Wife” is a noun.

The word “wife” comes from Old English. From Old English wīf, an old Germanic word originally meaning simply "woman", which later narrowed in English to mean specifically a married woman.

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

The counterpart is "husband," the married man in the relationship — a wife and husband are spouses to each other. If you mean a woman who isn't married, the contrasting terms are "single woman" or historically "spinster," though the natural pair for "wife" in a marriage is "husband."

A woman a person was once married to but has divorced is an "ex-wife" or "former wife." If the husband has died, she is a "widow" rather than an ex-wife. These terms mark how a marriage ended — through divorce in the first case, bereavement in the second.