Meaning & use
husband
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Meanings
nouncountable
A man that a woman or another man is married to.
Grammar: Countable noun: you can say 'a husband', 'her husband', 'two husbands'. It is often used with a possessive adjective (my, your, her, his, etc.).
Patterns
- someone's husband
- her husband
- my husband
- husband and wife
She introduced me to her husband at the party.
My husband and I have been married for ten years.
He is a devoted husband and father.
verbtransitiveformal
To use something valuable carefully and not waste it.
Grammar: Formal and often used with resources like strength, money, or time. Takes an object: husband your strength.
Patterns
- husband something
- husband your strength
- husband your resources
The team had to husband its energy for the final part of the race.
She husbanded her small savings carefully during the crisis.
Word forms
| plural | husbands |
|---|---|
| third person singular | husbands |
| past tense | husbanded |
| past participle | husbanded |
| present participle | husbanding |
Common combinations
- her husband
- Her husband works as a teacher.
- husband and wife
- The couple, husband and wife, run the shop together.
- ex-husband
- She still gets along well with her ex-husband.
- husband your strength
- He husbanded his strength for the last mile of the marathon.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spouse
- Spouse is a formal or legal word that can mean a husband or a wife; husband is the everyday word for a male spouse.
- partner
- Partner can mean a husband, wife, or unmarried long-term companion; it is more general and does not specify marriage or gender.
Opposites
Word family
- husbandly adjective
- Behaving in a way that is considered typical of a good husband; old-fashioned and rare.
- husbandry noun
- The careful management of resources, or the practice of farming.
Commonly confused: husband or househusband?
husband vs househusband
A househusband is a husband who stays at home to take care of the house and children, while the wife works; it is a specific compound, not a general word for husband.
Practice
She said her ______ is a doctor.
Choose one answer.
The singular 'husband' is correct because she has one husband. 'Husbands' is plural and does not fit 'her' with one person; 'husband's' is possessive and would need a noun after it (e.g., 'her husband's job'); 'husbandly' is an adjective and cannot be the object of 'her'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “husband”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.