husbands

IPA/hˈʌsbəndz/
KK[hˈʌzbəndz]IPA/hˈʌzbəndz/

husbands — noun

1. the male partners in marriages; the plural form of husband, used when referring

1.nounA1
Definition

the male partners in marriages; the plural form of husband, used when referring to more than one married man.

Example

Both husbands cooked dinner together while their wives watched a movie.

plural subject: both husbands + verb

Ada and Mira complained that their husbands always forgot to take out the trash.

possessive: their husbands

Common collocations
  • former husbands
  • their husbands
  • many husbands
Synonyms
  • spouses

    gender-neutral; covers wives and husbands together

  • partners

    broader; can include unmarried couples too

Antonyms
  • wives

    the female counterpart

Grammar Patterns

plural of husband

Usage Note

Plural inflection of 'husband'. Treat as a regular countable noun; use 'their husbands' when each subject in a plural group has one husband each.

Common Mistakes

My husbands is at work.
My husband is at work.
'husbands' is plural, so a single person has one 'husband', not 'husbands'.
Both wives's husband cooked dinner.
Both wives' husbands cooked dinner.
when each wife has one husband, the count is still plural across the group.

husbands — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Husbands' specifically names male marriage partners and is the everyday, neutral word in modern English. 'Spouses' is gender-neutral and slightly more formal, often used on official forms when the writer does not want to assume gender. 'Partners' is the broadest term — it covers married couples, unmarried couples living together, and same-sex couples, and avoids signalling whether a relationship is legally formalised. 'Mates' is informal British English for a romantic partner and can sound old-fashioned outside Australia or among older speakers. In a wedding speech you would say 'the husbands and wives'; on a tax form you would see 'spouses'; in a casual conversation about modern family life you would more often hear 'partners'.

husbands ↗spouses ↗partners ↗mates ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • husbands and wives

Phrases

  • former husbands
  • future husbands

Prepositions

  • of (the husbands of), with (with their husbands)

Etymology

Old NorseOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

From the Old Norse 'húsbóndi', meaning 'master of the house' — a compound of 'hús' (house) and 'bóndi' (occupier, dweller, peasant). Borrowed into late Old English as 'hūsbonda' and over the centuries narrowed in meaning from a male head of household to specifically a married man. The verb sense 'to manage carefully' developed from the older idea that a husband was responsible for managing the household's resources prudently.