verb + marriage : celebrate; oppose
mar|riage|able /mæ r I dʒəb ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe someone as marriageable , you mean that they are suitable for marriage, especially that they are the right age to marry. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ …girls of marriageable age. □ …a marriageable daughter.
ma r|riage gui d|ance N‑UNCOUNT [usu N n] Marriage guidance is advice given to couples who are having problems in their relationship. [BRIT ]
mar|ried ◆◇◇ /mæ rid/
1 ADJ If you are married , you have a husband or wife. □ We have been married for 14 years. □ [+ to ] She is married to an Englishman. □ …a married man with two children.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Married means relating to marriage or to people who are married. □ For the first ten years of our married life we lived in a farmhouse.
3 ADJ If you say that someone is married to their work or another activity, you mean that they are very involved with it and have little interest in anything else. □ [+ to ] She was a very strict Christian who was married to her job.
mar|row /mæ roʊ/ (marrows )
1 N‑VAR A marrow is a long, thick, green vegetable with soft white flesh that is eaten cooked. [BRIT ] in AM, use squash 2 N‑SING The marrow of something is the most important and basic part of it. □ [+ of ] We're getting into the marrow of the film.
ma r|row bone (marrow bones ) also marrowbone N‑VAR Marrow bones are the bones of certain animals, especially cows, that contain a lot of bone marrow. They are used in cooking and in dog food. □ …marrowbone jelly.
mar|ry ◆◆◇ /mæ ri/ (marries , marrying , married )
1 VERB When two people get married or marry , they legally become partners in a special ceremony. Get married is less formal and more commonly used than marry . □ [get V -ed] I thought he would change after we got married. □ [V ] They married a month after they met. □ [V n] He wants to marry her. □ [get V -ed + to ] He got married to wife Beryl when he was 19. □ [get V -ed] I am getting married on Monday. □ [V ] She ought to marry again, don't you think?
2 VERB When a priest or official marries two people, he or she conducts the ceremony in which the two people legally become partners. □ [V n] The local vicar has agreed to marry us in the chapel on the estate. USAGE marry
You don’t usually use ‘marry’ without a following noun. Don’t say, for example, ‘
marsh /mɑː r ʃ/ (marshes ) N‑VAR A marsh is a wet, muddy area of land.
mar|shal /mɑː r ʃ ə l/ (marshals , marshalling , marshalled ) in AM, use marshaling , marshaled 1 VERB If you marshal people or things, you gather them together and arrange them for a particular purpose. □ [V n] Richard was marshalling the doctors and nurses, showing them where to go. □ [V n] …the way in which Britain marshalled its economic and political resources to protect its security interests.
2 N‑COUNT A marshal is an official who helps to supervise a public event, especially a sports event. □ The Grand Prix is controlled by well-trained marshals.
3 N‑COUNT In the United States and some other countries, a marshal is a police officer, often one who is responsible for a particular area. □ A federal marshal was killed in a shoot-out.
4 N‑COUNT A marshal is an officer in a fire department. [AM ] □ …a Cleveland county fire marshal.
5 N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE In Britain and some other countries, a marshal is the most senior officer in an army or air force. □ …Air Chief Marshal Sir Kenneth Cross.
marsh|land /mɑː r ʃlænd/ (marshlands ) N‑UNCOUNT Marshland is land with a lot of wet, muddy areas.
marsh|mal|low /mɑː r ʃmæ loʊ, [AM ] -mel-/ (marshmallows )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Marshmallow is a soft, sweet food that is used in some cakes, puddings, and sweets.
2 N‑COUNT Marshmallows are sweets made from marshmallow.
marshy /mɑː r ʃi/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Marshy land is always wet and muddy. □ …the broad, marshy plain of the River Spey.
mar|su|pial /mɑː r suː piəl/ (marsupials ) N‑COUNT A marsupial is an animal such as a kangaroo or an opossum. Female marsupials carry their babies in a pouch on their stomach.
mart /mɑː r t/ (marts ) N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A mart is a place such as a market where things are bought and sold. [AM ] □ …the flower mart.
mar|tial /mɑː r ʃ ə l/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Martial is used to describe things relating to soldiers or war. [FORMAL ] □ The paper was actually twice banned under the martial regime.
2 → see also court martial
ma r|tial a rt (martial arts ) N‑COUNT A martial art is one of the methods of fighting, often without weapons, that come from the Far East, for example kung fu, karate, or judo.
ma r|tial la w N‑UNCOUNT Martial law is control of an area by soldiers, not the police. □ The military leadership have lifted martial law in several more towns.
Mar|tian /mɑː r ʃ ə n/ (Martians )
1 N‑COUNT A Martian is an imaginary creature from the planet Mars. □ Orson Welles managed to convince many Americans that they were being invaded by Martians.