Table of Contents
Definition of Cohabitation
(noun) When two people live together and share an intimate relationship, typically in reference to unmarried couples.
Example of Cohabitation
- Two single people meet at a university and live together to save on expenses and have a sexual relationship.
Cohabitation Pronunciation
Syllabification: co·hab·i·ta·tion
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /koh-hab-uh-tAY-shuhn/
- British English – /koh-hab-i-tAY-shuhn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /koʊˌhæbəˈteɪʃən/
- British English – /ˌkəʊhæbɪˈteɪʃən/
Usage Notes
- Plural: cohabitations
- Cohabitation refers to a couple living at the same physical location and not to a couple that spends the majority of their time at one residence while maintaining two separate residences.
- In some locations, the length of cohabitation leads to a common-law marriage.
- Cohabitation has become a precursor to marriage and an alternative to marriage in some societies.
- Cohabitation is the only option for same-sex couples where same-sex marriage is illegal.
- Type: common-law marriage
- Variant spelling: co-habitation
- Also called:
- consensual union
- de facto marriage
- living together
- Informally called:
- “living as married“
- “living in sin“
- “playing house“
- “shacking up“
- A (noun) cohabitant or (noun) cohabiter (verb) cohabit with each other in a (adjective) cohabitational relationship.
Related Quotation
- “Families of orientation, procreation, and cohabitation provide us with some of the most important roles we will assume in life. The nuclear family roles (such as parent, child, husband, wife, and sibling) combine with extended family roles (such as grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, and in-law) to form the kinship system” (Strong, Devault, and Cohen 2011:19).
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “cohabitation” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Miller, R. Robin, and Sandra Lee Browning, eds. 2000. With This Ring: Divorce, Intimacy, and Cohabitation from a Multicultural Perspective. Stamford, CT: JAI Press.
- Nazio, Tiziana. 2011. Cohabitation, Family and Society. London: Routledge.
Related Terms
Reference
Strong, Bryan, Christine DeVault, and Theodore F. Cohen. 2011. The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate Relationships in a Changing Society. 11th ed. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Works Consulted
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Cite the Definition of Cohabitation
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “cohabitation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 24, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/cohabitation/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
cohabitation. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/cohabitation/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “cohabitation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/cohabitation/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“cohabitation.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/cohabitation/>.