elope

IPA/ɪlˈəʊp/
KK[ɪlˈop]IPA/ɪlˈoʊp/

elope — verb

1. to go away with a romantic partner and get married without telling your family o

1.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to go away with a romantic partner and get married without telling your family or asking for their permission first

Example

Wei and his girlfriend decided to elope to Las Vegas last weekend.

elope + to + place: destination after eloping

Instead of a big wedding, the couple eloped and got married on a quiet beach at sunset.

Common collocations
  • elope with someone
  • elope to somewhere
  • decide to elope
  • plan to elope
  • elope in secret
Synonyms
  • run away together

    more general — does not necessarily imply marriage; can be used for any escape

  • get married in secret

    descriptive phrase rather than a single verb; focuses on the secrecy of the wedding, not the leaving

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

elope + with + person

elope + to + place

Usage Note

Intransitive only — you cannot say 'elope someone'. The person you marry is introduced by 'with', and the destination by 'to'.

Common Mistakes

They eloped each other last night.
They eloped last night.
'elope' is intransitive; you do not need a direct object.
She eloped him to Paris.
She eloped with him to Paris.
the partner is introduced by 'with', not as the object.

Word family

  • elopement
    nounC1
  • eloper
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Elope' is the most specific of the three — it always involves leaving secretly to get married, often without family knowledge or approval. 'Run away together' is broader: a couple might run away to start a new life without marrying, or to escape a difficult situation. 'Get married in secret' focuses on the wedding itself rather than the act of leaving; the couple could marry secretly while still living at home. For example, 'The teenagers eloped to Gretna Green' implies a romantic, hurried departure, whereas 'They got married in secret at the registry office' suggests a quiet, planned event that no one knew about.

elope ↗run away togetherget married in secret

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • elope in secret
  • decide to elope
  • plan to elope

Prepositions

Etymology

Middle DutchEnglish

The word 'elope' came into English in the 1500s from the Middle Dutch word 'ontlopen', meaning 'to run away'. The prefix 'ont-' means 'away from', and 'lopen' means 'to run' or 'to leap'. Over time, the meaning narrowed from simply running away to specifically running away in order to get married in secret.