1
: a male partner in a marriage
her husband of forty years
2
British
: the manager of another's property : steward
3
: a frugal manager
speaks his whole mind gaily, and is not the cautious husband of a part—
W. B. Yeats
W. B. Yeats
husbandly
adjective
husbanded; husbanding; husbands
1
a
: to manage prudently and economically
a country that has husbanded its resources well
b
: to use sparingly : conserve
must husband one's strength
2
archaic
: to find a husband for : mate
husbander
noun
Examples of husband in a Sentence
Noun
Have you met her husband?
she and her husband just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
Verb
The country has husbanded its resources well.
husband our natural resources so that our children and grandchildren may benefit from them
Recent Examples on the Web
Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
My husband, Jack Waters, was at Cambridge with her and Sam Mendes and Tom Hollander.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Peter Schroeder, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2024
While Stone nursed his spacecraft along, NASA brass husbanded their budget, ultimately winning funding to keep Voyager 2 flying.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 12 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for husband 
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Noun
Considering this troubled young woman’s history, your husband has made a big mistake by fostering her dependence on him.
—Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
My husband, Jack Waters, was at Cambridge with her and Sam Mendes and Tom Hollander.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Verb
At the same time, Washington should husband its resources, expending them as efficiently as possible and convincing Kyiv to avoid large, wasteful offensives.
—Peter Schroeder, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2024
While Stone nursed his spacecraft along, NASA brass husbanded their budget, ultimately winning funding to keep Voyager 2 flying.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 12 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for husband
Dictionary Entries Near husband
Cite this Entry
“Husband.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/husband. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
husband
1 of 2 noun
hus·band
ˈhəz-bənd 
: a male partner in a marriage
husband
2 of 2 verb
: to manage carefully and economically : conserve
husbanded their resources
husbander
noun
Etymology
Noun
Old English hūsbonda "master of a house," from early Norse hūsbondi, literally, "house owner" — related to house
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