spousespouse /spaʊs, spaʊz/ ●○○ noun [countable] formal 
Word Origin
Spouses were invited to the company picnic.► see thesaurus at married—spousal /ˈspaʊzəl/ adjective: spousal abuse
Word OriginWORD ORIGINspouse
ExamplesOrigin:
1100-1200 Old French espous(e), from Latin sponsus ‘promised (in marriage)’, from spondere; ➔ SPONSOR1EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- You may choose to pay income tax jointly or separately from your spouse.
- Any civil servant who talks to his or her spouse about work would be committing an offence.
- As a husband, he fulfilled the model role of an attentive and loving spouse.
- Electrons are like spouses in monogamous countries; there is either one or none.
- In addition, because of prior changes in immigration laws, fewer spouses and parents were admitted in 1995.
- Remember, your spouse may not be used to having you home during working hours.
- The company then arranged coach trips for employees and their spouses to view the area.
- Your family, friends, or spouse all have their goals for you, but what do you want?
THESAURUShusband/wife etc► husband/wife
Collocations the man/woman you are married to: · My wife’s a teacher.
► partner the person you live with and have a sexual relationship with. Partner is often used when people are not married, or when you do not know if they are married. It is also used when talking about same-sex couples: · He lives with his partner Ruth and their eight-month-old son.
► fiancé/fiancée the man/woman you are engaged to: · He and fiancée Wendy Hodgson will marry in July.
► divorcee a woman who is divorced: · The prince announced his intention to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.
► widow/widower a woman or man whose husband or wife has died: · Imelda Marcos, the widow of the former president
► spouse formal your spouse is your husband or wife: · The rule applies to spouses and children of military personnel.
► estranged wife/husband formal someone’s estranged husband or wife is one who they do not live with anymore: · She is trying to get her sons back from her estranged husband.
Longman Language Activatorthe people who are married► couple two people who are married to each other, or who are having a romantic relationship: · An elderly couple live next door.· They're a nice couple, aren't they?married couple: · Shirley and Bob are a young married couple with two small children.
► newlyweds a man and woman who have recently married: · Everyone left at about midnight, leaving the newlyweds alone at last.· The hotel seemed to be full of newlyweds.
► man and wife formal a married couple: as man and wife: · Terry and Meena aren't married but they live together as man and wife.pronounce somebody man and wife (=say that two people are officially married): · Mom burst into tears as the minister pronounced us man and wife.
► married · Are you married or single?· We've been married for 25 years.married to · Geraldine was married to the richest man in France and still pretended she couldn't afford a new outfit.happily married · Richard is happily married with two young children.
► wife the woman that a man is married to: · My wife's career is very important to her.· Have you met the Ambassador's wife?first/second etc wife: · He remarried after his first wife died of cancer.
► husband the man that a woman is married to: · I don't like Francesca's husband very much.· How many husbands would stay at home and take care of the children while their wife goes out to work?first/second etc husband: · Gary's her second husband.
► spouse formal the man or woman that someone is married to - use this in legal or official contexts: · You may choose to pay income tax jointly or separately from your spouse.
► partner the person that someone lives with in a romantic relationship - use this whether they are married or not: · Have you met my partner, Ray?· The office party is on Friday, but partners aren't invited.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE► other
a husband or wife: · Other times, other spouses, thought Albert, and the floor rocked.
► surviving· Property left to a surviving spouse remains, as before, free of inheritance tax.· The present rules are: Rights of surviving spouse.· Acute grief at the death of one parent may inhibit a family for caring for the surviving spouse.· Only 25 percent of women over 80 who have no surviving spouse live with other members of their family.· The interests of the children, if there is no surviving spouse, absolutely override those of any other relatives.
VERB► live· Among those aged 65 or more, 45% live with their spouse only and 11% live with relatives.· The proportion living only with their spouse has also increased, from 30 percent in 1945 to 44 percent in 1980.
Spouses were invited to the company picnic.► see thesaurus at married—spousal /ˈspaʊzəl/ adjective: spousal abuse