ruby wedding

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   the celebration of the 40th anniversary of a couple's wedding day

   Grammar: Countable; usually used with 'a' or 'the': a ruby wedding, their ruby wedding.

   Patterns

   • a ruby wedding
   • celebrate a ruby wedding
   • someone's ruby wedding

   My grandparents are celebrating their ruby wedding this June.

   They had a big party for their ruby wedding and invited all their old friends.

   A ruby wedding marks forty years of marriage.

2. 2nouncountable

   a gift traditionally given to mark a 40th wedding anniversary

   Grammar: Countable; often used in the phrase 'a ruby wedding gift' or 'a ruby wedding present'.

   Patterns

   • a ruby wedding gift
   • a ruby wedding present
   • buy a ruby wedding gift

   For a ruby wedding gift, many people choose something red or made of ruby.

   He bought his wife a ruby wedding present to mark their fortieth anniversary.

Word forms

Common combinations

ruby wedding anniversary

They went on a cruise for their ruby wedding anniversary.

celebrate a ruby wedding

The whole family gathered to celebrate a ruby wedding.

ruby wedding gift

She gave them a ruby wedding gift of a framed photo.

mark a ruby wedding

The couple planted a tree to mark their ruby wedding.

Synonyms and how they differ

ruby anniversary

A slightly shorter way to say the same thing; it often appears in lists of anniversary names.

fortieth anniversary

A general term that could refer to any fortieth anniversary, not only a wedding.

Word family

ruby noun

A red precious stone; the name of this anniversary comes from the stone.

wedding noun

The ceremony at which two people get married.

Commonly confused: ruby wedding or golden wedding?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ruby wedding”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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