groom

Definition of Groom

(noun) A man about to be married or who is recently married.

Examples of Groom

• Barack Obama, groom of Michelle Obama.
• Homer, groom of Marge on The Simpsons.
  

Groom Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: groom

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English - /ɡrum/
• British English - /ɡruːm/

Usage Notes

• Plural: grooms
• A gender-neutral term for bride or groom is partner.
• In contrast, a recently married or soon to be married woman is called a bride.

Additional Information

• Family and Kinship Resources - Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “groom” - Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Abbott, Elizabeth. 2011. A History of Marriage: From Same Sex Unions to Private Vows and Common Law, the Surprising Diversity of a Tradition. New York: Seven Stories Press.
• Coontz, Stephanie. 2005. Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage. New York: Viking.
• Lerner, K. Lee, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. 2006. Family in Society: Essential Primary Sources. Detroit: Thomson Gale.

Related Terms

• bigamy
• common-law marriage
• endogamy
• exogamy
• family life cycle
• family of orientation
• family of procreation
• extended family
• marriage
• monogamy

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Cite the Definition of Groom

ASA - American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “groom.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved November 8, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/groom/).

APA - American Psychological Association (6th edition)

groom. (2015). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/groom/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date - Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “groom.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/groom/.

MLA - Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“groom.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2015. Web. 8 Nov. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/groom/>.