Elope
verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Of a married or engaged person, to run away from home with a paramour. intransitive
- 2 run away secretly with one's beloved wordnet
- 3 Of an unmarried person, to run away secretly for the purpose of getting married with one's intended spouse; to marry in a quick or private fashion, especially without a public period of engagement. intransitive
"My younger sister has left all her friends-- has eloped; has thrown herself into the power of-- of Mr. Wickham."
- 4 To run away from home (for any reason). dated, intransitive
"He had been intended by his father for trade, but his spirit, soaring above the occupation for which he was designed, from repining led him to resist, and from resisting, to rebel. He eloped from his friends, and contrived to enter the army."
Example
More examples"He said that if I would elope with him to-morrow, he would marry me at the chapel; and fearing they—my sister—would marry me against my will to—to another man, I consented."
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman aloper (“to abduct, run away”), itself borrowed from Proto-West Germanic *andihlaupan (“to run away”). Equivalent to and- + lope as well as and- + leap (these being doublets). More at lope.
Related phrases
More for "elope"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.