Definition of "spouse" []

• A marriage partner; a husband or wife. (noun)
• Archaic To marry; wed. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term spouse is applied to married people until their marriage is consummated"
• "The new marriage licenses - which add the term spouse - will be distributed to town and city clerk offices across the state in advance of the same-sex marriage law taking effect July 24."
• "Killing your spouse is an effective way of ending an argument but that doesn't make it OK; it's still murder and still illegal."