marriage

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The state of being married.

   “You should enter marriage for love.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A union of two or more people that creates a family tie and carries legal, social, or religious rights and responsibilities.

   “By his marriage to his two wives, Tapuwae quietly strengthened all of the pas of the Wairoa district, as many of them came under his control through these unions.”

   “One layman in Buddha's time decided to embrace celibacy and relinquished his marriage vows to his four wives. When he asked them what they wanted in terms of a settlement, one said, […]”

   “The account of the loss of the blessing of his father Isaac appears immediately after Esau's marriage to his Hittite wives.”

   “In an open marriage, the partners are free to have extramarital relationships or sex without betraying one another. Such a marriage is based on communication, trust, and respect, […]”

   “Now can we eat? Marriages are arranged for whatever purpose is suitable. All this talk of undying love and childbearing squirms in my stomach like a worm that demands feeding.”

3. (countable, sometimes, specifically, uncountable)A union of two or more people that creates a family tie and carries legal, social, or religious rights and responsibilities.

   “My grandparents' marriage lasted for forty years.”

   “Pat and Leslie's marriage to each other lasted forty years.”

4. (countable, often, specifically, uncountable)A union of two or more people that creates a family tie and carries legal, social, or religious rights and responsibilities.
5. (countable, uncountable)A wedding; a ceremony in which people wed.

   “You are cordially invited to the marriage of James Smith and Jane Doe.”

6. (countable, figuratively, uncountable)A close union.

   “And this marriage of poetry and history remained a solid relationship throughout the classical period.”

   “Above all, we will no longer have to feel qualms about the marriage of art and money. We will no longer have to wonder if it is possible to separate the esthetic value of an art work from its commercial value.”

   “But the food is real: a marriage of local ingredients and serious technique.”

   “That bitter rivalry -- between Thaksin's supporters, known as the Red Shirts, and the royalist elites, known as the Yellow Shirts -- has been a hallmark of politics for the past 20 years, with deadly street protests a common occurrence. Friday's announcement signals a surprise marriage between the two sides, with Ubolratana having the power to break that cycle.”

7. (countable, figuratively, uncountable)A joining of two parts.
8. (countable, uncountable)A king and a queen, when held as a hand in some versions of poker or melded in pinochle.
9. (countable, uncountable)In solitaire or patience games, the placing a card of the same suit on the next one above or below it in value.
10. (countable, slang, uncountable)A homosexual relationship between male prisoners.

name

1. A surname