HUSBAND

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does husband mean? 

• HUSBAND (noun)
  The noun HUSBAND has 1 sense:

1. a married man; a woman's partner in marriage

  Familiarity information: HUSBAND used as a noun is very rare.

• HUSBAND (verb)
  The verb HUSBAND has 1 sense:

1. use cautiously and frugally

  Familiarity information: HUSBAND used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HUSBAND (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A married man; a woman's partner in marriage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

hubby; husband; married man

Hypernyms ("husband" is a kind of...):

better half; married person; mate; partner; spouse (a person's partner in marriage)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "husband"):

benedick; benedict (a newly married man (especially one who has long been a bachelor))

cuckold (a man whose wife committed adultery)

family man (a man whose family is of major importance in his life)

house husband; househusband (a husband who keeps house while his wife earns the family income)

uxoricide (a husband who murders his wife)

Antonym:

wife (a married woman; a man's partner in marriage)

Derivation:

husbandly (related to or suited to a husband)

husbandly (befitting or characteristic of a husband)

• HUSBAND (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they husband    ... he / she / it husbands   
Past simple: husbanded   
Past participle: husbanded   
-ing form: husbanding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Use cautiously and frugally

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

conserve; economise; economize; husband

Context example:

conserve your energy for the ascent to the summit

Hypernyms (to "husband" is one way to...):

preserve; save (to keep up and reserve for personal or special use)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "husband"):

retrench (tighten one's belt; use resources carefully)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

My dearest Mina,—Oceans of love and millions of kisses, and may you soon be in your own home with your husband.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Her husband was triumphant. He had her.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

For some reason, Woodley was chosen as the husband.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I perfectly understand Mr Robinson's directions, and have no fears; and indeed, Mary, I cannot wonder at your husband.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

She said that her husband was very tired and she wished to relieve him.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was evidently oppressed, and Fanny must grieve for him, though hoping she might never see him again till he were the husband of some other woman.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

And the wife struck; but she missed her aim, and hit her husband on the head so that he fell down dead, and the sparrow flew quietly home to her nest.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

"The husband seems then to have had a not very savory reputation in San Francisco?"

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

An’ as he was a-gettin’ under way, didn’t the fond husbands get left astern-like in their sampan, as it might be by accident?

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Or if your husband or wife has been out of work for a long time, he or she may secure a new position, or other significant changes may occur regarding your partner.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)