common-law marriage
noun
a marriage without a civil or ecclesiastical ceremony, generally resulting from an agreement to marry followed by the couple's living together.
Origin of common-law marriage
First recorded in 1905–10
Words nearby common-law marriage
common variable immunodeficiency,
common year,
common yellow throat,
common-cold virus,
common-law,
common-law marriage,
common-sense realism,
commonable,
commonage,
commonality,
commonalty
Cultural definitions for common-law marriage
common-law marriage
A legal marriage brought about by the cohabitation of a man and a woman, or by their agreement to consider themselves married, rather than by a wedding. (See common law.)