Dictionary

significant other en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Meanings

1. One's exclusive romantic partner.
   • Almost half of working women who are married or live with a partner are seeing their significant other only in passing because the two work different shifts, an AFL-CIO poll found. 2000 March 9, “Couples Working Different Shifts, Union Poll Finds”, in Deseret News, retrieved 27 Oct 2013, page D7:
   • More than half (57 percent) of consumers think it would be wonderfully romantic if their significant other booked tickets for a surprise international trip. 2006 February 12, Michelle Singletary, “Love and money go hand in hand”, in Boston Globe, retrieved 27 Oct 2013:
2. A person with whom one has an important bond of some kind.
   • Dr. Nogueira said it was always preferable to have coaches drawn from a school's staff because a coach "is a significant other" to a student. 1983 June 21, William E. Geist, “High Schools Struggle with Coach Shortage”, in New York Times, retrieved 27 Oct 2013:
   • As in the rest of the hospital, a family member or "significant other" such as a lover or close friend, is allowed to spend the night in a patient's room on a cot. 1985 December 14, Katherine Bishop, “Ward 5B: A Model of Care for AIDS”, in New York Times, retrieved 27 Oct 2013:
   • If your spouse, children or other significant others are still whining about all those holiday leftovers you made them eat, maybe it's time to spruce up your culinary skills. 1989 December 26, Graham Vink, “Not At Home On The Range”, in Spokesman-Review, retrieved 27 Oct 2013, page F1:

Forms

Deriveds

fictional other · significant-othered

Synonyms

SO · better half · s/o · other half · partner

Translations (36)

uk дру́га полови́нка (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ca parella (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · tr partner (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · es media naranja (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ja 伴侶 (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · fi kumppani (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ru втора́я полови́на (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ru спу́тник жи́зни (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · es novio (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · pl sympatia (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · nl wederhelft (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · cmn 配偶 (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · de Lebensgefährtin (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · pt cara-metade (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · fr partenaire (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · cmn 那位 (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · fr compagne (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · fi rakas (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · fr moitié (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · es pareja (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ja 恋人 (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ru спу́тница жи́зни (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ru возлю́бленный (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ru возлю́бленная (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · fr compagnon (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · de Lebensgefährte (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · fi elämäntoveri (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · gl parella (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · da kæreste (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · cmn 伴侶 /伴侣 (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · es novia (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · tr eş (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ar النصف الآخر (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · cmn 對象 /对象 (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · cmn 愛人 /爱人 (romantic partner, regardless of marital status) · ja 配偶者 (romantic partner, regardless of marital status)