marry

Everyday

1. To marry someone means to become their husband or wife in a wedding. tree →
2. To marry means to perform the wedding: "The priest married them." tree →
3. To marry two things means to join or combine them well. tree →
4. Marry is an old word, used to mean "indeed" or "truly" to show strong feeling. tree →

In the lessons

In stories: fairy tales often end with the prince and princess marrying. In everyday life: weddings, getting married. Phrases: marry someone, get married, married to, marry into.

Examples

• My aunt is going to marry her boyfriend next summer. tree →
• They got married in a small church. tree →
• The prince married the princess and they lived happily ever after. tree →
• My grandparents have been married for fifty years. tree →
• The judge married the couple at the town hall. tree →
• This dish marries sweet and sour flavours. tree →
• "Marry, I'm in earnest," said the tinker. tree →

Note

Spelling: marries, married (y to i). Say "marry someone", not "marry with someone". "Get married" is common in speech. Do not confuse with "merry" (happy) or "Mary" (a name): in some accents they sound alike. In maths: years married = this year's number − wedding year's number.

In Jewish tradition

Ezra and Nehemiah condemn marrying foreign women who worshipped other gods. The worry was that they would lead Israel away from God.

Interpretation. Tradition reads these laws as being about protecting the faith and keeping the people loyal to God. It was not seen as hatred of other nations.

Examples

• Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to break faith with our God in marrying foreign women?' (Writings NEH.13.27, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Spelling: marries, married (y to i). Say "marry someone", not "marry with someone". "Get married" is common in speech. Do not confuse with "merry" (happy) or "Mary" (a name): in some accents they sound alike. In maths: years married = this year's number − wedding year's number.