What does bride mean?
A bride is a woman on her wedding day or around the time of her marriage, whether she is about to wed, is marrying that day, or has only recently done so. The word belongs almost entirely to the vocabulary of weddings: it appears in fixed pairings like 'bride and groom,' 'blushing bride,' and 'bridesmaid' (originally 'bride's maid'), and it always refers to the female partner in a traditional wedding context. Its connotations are celebratory and affectionate, and it is equally at home in formal announcements and casual conversation. The word is ancient — it descends directly from Old English brȳd, with close relatives in German (Braut) and Dutch (bruid) — making it one of the older core terms of the English wedding lexicon. Figuratively, it can also appear in older religious expressions such as 'the bride of Christ.' For anyone writing about weddings, from invitations to journalism, 'bride' remains the precise, universally understood term.
nounA woman on her wedding day or shortly before or after it; a woman who is about to be married or has recently been married.
- A woman on her wedding day or at the time of her marriage.
- A woman who has recently married or is about to marry.
"The bride entered the chapel on her father's arm as the organ began to play."
"The bride wore a gown of ivory silk and carried a bouquet of peonies."
"Friends gathered to toast the bride at her farewell dinner the night before the wedding."
Regular plural, used when referring to multiple women marrying, as in group weddings or general statements.
"Both brides wore matching veils at the double ceremony."
In Old English, a new husband was called a brydguma — literally 'bride-man' — and centuries of sound change slowly wore that down into today's word 'bridegroom.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bride
The word 'bride' descends directly from Old English brȳd, meaning a woman about to be married or newly married. It has secure cognates across the Germanic languages, including modern German Braut and Dutch bruid, reflecting a shared Proto-Germanic root. In Old English, the corresponding term for a groom was brydguma ('bride-man'), which evolved through Middle English into the modern compound 'bridegroom.' The word has been in continuous use for well over a thousand years with its core meaning essentially unchanged.
Related word forms
How bride is actually used
'Bride' refers specifically to the woman at a wedding; it carries warm, celebratory connotations and is standard in both formal and informal contexts. In extended uses such as 'the bride of Christ' (a religious metaphor for the Church or a nun) it retains an older, figurative sense.
Easily confused with bride
A bridle is the headgear used to control a horse, while a bride is a woman getting married — the two differ by only one letter.