wedding ring

noun

Either of a pair or rings exchanged by spouses in a wedding ceremony, and afterwards worn by them, symbolizing continuous fidelity.

Similar
marriage ringwedding band
OriginMiddle English wedding ring →
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Meanings

nounwedding ring (plural wedding rings)

plural wedding rings · alternative wedding-ring

  1. jewelryEither of a pair or rings exchanged by spouses in a wedding ceremony, and afterwards worn by them, symbolizing continuous fidelity.

    Do the bad thing / Take off your wedding ring / But it won't make it that much easier / It might make it worse

    2007, “The Bad Thing”, Alex Turner (lyrics), performed by Arctic Monkeys
    2 more examples

    The surgeon leant over the body, and raised the left hand. "The old story," he said, shaking his head: "no wedding-ring, I see. Ah! good night!"

    1837 February, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “Treats of the Place Where Oliver Twist Was Born, and of the Circumstances Attending His Birth”, in Oliver Twist; […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], published 1838, →OCLC, page 6

    Goodbye, old sleepyhead / I'm packing you in like I said / Take care of everything / I'm leaving my wedding ring

    1947, Willard Robison, “Don't Smoke in Bed”, performed by Peggy Lee

    Synonyms: marriage ring, wedding band

Synonyms & antonyms

nounEither of a pair or rings exchanged by spouses in a wedding ceremony, and afterwards worn by them, symbolizing continuous fidelity.

Similar
marriage ringwedding band

More synonyms by meaning

nouna ring (usually plain gold) given to the bride (and sometimes one is also given to the groom) at the wedding

Similar
wedding band
Broader
ringband
Also see
wedding band

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishwedding ring
  2. Englishwedding ring

From Middle English wedding ring, wedding ryng, weddynge rynge, weddyng ryng.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic خَاتَم زَوَاج
  • خَاتَم زَوَاج (ḵātam zawāj)a ring symbolizing marriage
Bulgarian брачна халка, венчален пръстен
  • брачна халка (bračna halka)a ring symbolizing marriage
  • венчален пръстен (venčalen prăsten)a ring symbolizing marriage
Chinese Cantonese 結婚戒指 /结婚戒指, 婚戒
  • 結婚戒指 /结婚戒指 (git³ fan¹ gaai³ zi²)a ring symbolizing marriage
  • 婚戒 (fan¹ gaai³)a ring symbolizing marriage
Chinese Mandarin 結婚戒指 /结婚戒指, 結婚指環 /结婚指环
  • 結婚戒指 /结婚戒指 (jiéhūn jièzhi)a ring symbolizing marriage
  • 結婚指環 /结婚指环 (jiéhūn zhǐhuán)a ring symbolizing marriage
  • 婚戒 (hūnjiè)a ring symbolizing marriage
Czech snubní prsten
  • snubní prstena ring symbolizing marriage
Danish vielsesring
  • vielsesringa ring symbolizing marriage
Dutch trouwring
  • trouwringa ring symbolizing marriage
Esperanto geedzoringo
  • geedzoringoa ring symbolizing marriage
Finnish vihkisormus
  • vihkisormusa ring symbolizing marriage
French alliance
  • alliancea ring symbolizing marriage
German Ehering, Trauring
  • Eheringa ring symbolizing marriage
  • Trauringa ring symbolizing marriage
Greek βέρα
  • βέρα (véra)a ring symbolizing marriage
Hungarian jegygyűrű, karikagyűrű
  • jegygyűrűa ring symbolizing marriage
  • karikagyűrűa ring symbolizing marriage
Italian fede, vera
  • fedea ring symbolizing marriage
  • veraa ring symbolizing marriage
Japanese 結婚指輪
  • 結婚指輪 (kekkon yubiwa)a ring symbolizing marriage
Korean 결혼 반지
  • 결혼 반지 (gyeolhon banji)a ring symbolizing marriage
Latin anulus nuptialis
  • anulus nuptialisa ring symbolizing marriage
Māori rīngi mārena, rīngi mārenatanga
  • rīngi mārenaa ring symbolizing marriage
  • rīngi mārenatangaa ring symbolizing marriage
Norwegian Bokmål giftering
  • gifteringa ring symbolizing marriage
Persian حلقه ازدواج
  • حلقه ازدواج (halqe-ye ezdevâj)a ring symbolizing marriage
Polish obrączka, obrączka ślubna
  • obrączkaa ring symbolizing marriage
  • obrączka ślubnaa ring symbolizing marriage
Portuguese aliança
  • aliançaa ring symbolizing marriage
Romanian verighetă, inel de logodnă
  • verighetăa ring symbolizing marriage
  • inel de logodnăa ring symbolizing marriage
Russian обруча́льное кольцо́
  • обруча́льное кольцо́ (obručálʹnoje kolʹcó)a ring symbolizing marriage
Scottish Gaelic fàinne-pòsaidh
  • fàinne-pòsaidha ring symbolizing marriage
Slovak snubný prsteň
  • snubný prsteňa ring symbolizing marriage
Spanish alianza, anillo de boda
  • alianzaa ring symbolizing marriage
  • anillo de bodaa ring symbolizing marriage
  • anillo de casadoa ring symbolizing marriage
Swedish vigselring
  • vigselringa ring symbolizing marriage
Turkish alyans
  • alyansa ring symbolizing marriage
Ukrainian обру́чка
  • обру́чка (obrúčka)a ring symbolizing marriage
Vietnamese nhẫn cưới
  • nhẫn cướia ring symbolizing marriage
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: wedding ring on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.