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Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 3rd edition

Relationships
People who are not married
Your boyfriend or girlfriend is someone with whom you are having a romantic relationship. People who are having a romantic relationship are often referred to as a couple. Why dont we invite the couple next door round for a drink? If you are having a relationship but are not married and you live together, the word partner is often used to describe your boyfriend or girlfriend. Have you met my partner Tom? , Lover can be used by people in romantic relationships. It is more common to use girlfriend, boyfriend or partner in everyday conversation. If a couple are engaged, they have formally agreed to marry The person to whom . you are engaged is your anc (male) or your ance (female). A single parent, or single mother/father or a lone parent is someone who has a child but does not live with a husband, wife or partner. There are plans to help single mothers back into work.

People who are married


Two people who are married are also referred to as a couple. In formal or legal contexts, a persons husband or wife is their spouse. This travel insurance covers both spouse and dependent children.

If a relationship ends
If someones husband or wife has died, they are a widow (female) or a widower (male), and the dead person is referred to as their late husband/wife. If a relationship ends you can say the two people have broken up or they have split up. A previous partner can be an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend. If you were married to them, they are your ex-husband or ex-wife. These ex words can all be shortened informally to just ex. I hear my ex has moved in with his new girlfriend. If a married couple separate they stop living together, sometimes as part of a legal arrangement. This might be a trial separation (a period of separation to nd out if the couple want to separate permanently). If the couple divorce, they end their marriage through a legal process. They are then both divorced.

A new marriage
If one of your parents marries again you have a stepmother or stepfather and you become a stepson or stepdaughter. If your stepmother or stepfather already has children these become your stepbrothers or stepsisters. If one of your parents has another child with a new husband or wife, this is your half-brother or half-sister.

Cambridge University Press 2008

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