better half

noun

a person's wife.

a person's husband.

Origin

1830-40

British Dictionary definitions for better half

better half

noun

(jocular) one's spouse

Slang definitions & phrases for better half

better half

noun phrase

One's wife; occasionally, one's husband

[late 1500s+; either because the beloved is more than half of one or is the superior part, the soul]

Idioms and Phrases with better half

better half

Also, better part . The larger amount or majority of something, as in I won't be long; the better half of this job is complete , or I have spent the better part of my life in this city . Sir Philip Sidney used the first term in Arcadia (1580): “I ... shall think the better half of it already achieved.” The variant appears in a well-known proverb, discretion is the better part of valor

Also, my better half. One's (my) spouse, as in I'm not sure if we can go; I'll have to check with my better half. Originally this expression meant “a close friend or lover,” and by the 16th century it referred to either a wife or lover. Sidney used it in this way, again in Arcadia: “My dear, my better half (said he), I find I must now leave thee.” Today it tends to be used lightly for either husband or wife. “Late 1500s”