From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishspousespouse /spaʊs, spaʊz/ ●○○ noun [countable] formal MARRYa husband or wife Spouses were invited to the company picnic.► see thesaurus at married —spousal /ˈspaʊzəl/ adjective spousal abuse
Examples from the Corpus
spouse• In addition, because of prior changes in immigration laws, fewer spouses and parents were admitted in 1995.• Any civil servant who talks to his or her spouse about work would be committing an offence.• Electrons are like spouses in monogamous countries; there is either one or none.• As a husband, he fulfilled the model role of an attentive and loving spouse.• Your family, friends, or spouse all have their goals for you, but what do you want?• The company then arranged coach trips for employees and their spouses to view the area.• You may choose to pay income tax jointly or separately from your spouse.• Remember, your spouse may not be used to having you home during working hours.Origin spouse (1100-1200) Old French espous(e), from Latin sponsus “promised (in marriage)”, from spondere; → SPONSOR1 