one flesh

noun

Two people united by marriage.

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Meanings

nounone flesh (uncountable)
  1. idiomaticuncountableTwo people united by marriage.

    We know Christ's saying of the married that they are one flesh!

    1911, John Galsworthy, “A Christian”, in Inn of Tranquility
    2 more examples

    "This is reasonable and natural," returned Pathfinder; ". . . A woman would be likely to follow the man to whom she had plighted faith, and husband and wife are one flesh."

    1840, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 15, in The Pathfinder

    Mary: Have not I been the fast friend of your life Since mine began, and it was thought we two Might make one flesh, and cleave unto each other As man and wife?

    1875, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Queen Mary: A Drama, act V

Origin

A biblical phrase, found for example in versions of Genesis 2:24 and Mark 10:8.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

one flesh. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one%20flesh

MLA

“one flesh.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one%20flesh. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “one flesh,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one%20flesh.

Source: one flesh on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.