bride

bride — noun

1. a woman at the point of marrying, including the ceremony itself and the very sho

1.nounB1
Definition

a woman at the point of marrying, including the ceremony itself and the very short time around it

Example

At noon, the bride walked into the garden under a string of lights.

common pattern: the bride in a wedding scene

Priya helped the bride carry her dress up the hotel stairs.

Common collocations
  • bride and groom
  • bride's dress
  • bride's veil
  • mother of the bride
Synonyms
  • fiancee

    used before the wedding for a woman who is engaged, not on the wedding day itself

  • wife

    used for the ongoing relationship after marriage, not mainly for the ceremony

  • newlywed

    can be a man or a woman, and is used after the marriage

Antonyms
  • groom

    the man who is getting married

  • bridegroom

    a more formal or old-fashioned word for the groom

Grammar Patterns

the bride

bride and groom

a/an + bride

Usage Note

Usually appears with wedding details such as a dress, veil, church, or ceremony. Distinguish from 'wife': this word focuses on the wedding moment or the time very close to it, not married life in general.

Common Mistakes

My bride works at the bank downtown.
My wife works at the bank downtown.
'bride' is mainly used around the wedding, not as the usual word for a married woman later.
My brother was the bride at the beach wedding.
My brother was the groom at the beach wedding.
'bride' refers to the woman in the wedding.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Bride' is tied to the wedding itself. It names the woman on the wedding day, or very near that day. 'Fiancee' is earlier: it means the woman someone has agreed to marry, before the ceremony happens. 'Wife' is broader and more lasting, because it names the married relationship after the wedding. 'Newlywed' comes just after the ceremony and can refer to either husband or wife. So the timeline matters. You say 'The bride walked down the path' during the wedding, 'His fiancee chose the flowers' before it, and 'His wife called from Taipei' for ordinary married life. 'The happy newlyweds left at sunset' focuses on the first stage after marriage.

bride ↗fianceewife ↗newlywed ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bride and groom
  • bride's dress
  • bride's veil
  • bridal bouquet

Phrases

  • the bride arrived
  • mother of the bride
  • kiss the bride

Prepositions

  • for the bride
  • as the bride

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

This word comes from Old English brȳd. It kept the same central idea as English moved through Middle English into the modern language, and it belongs to an old Germanic word family with related forms in languages such as Old High German.