elope

[ ih-lohp ]
See synonyms for: elopeelopement on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),e·loped, e·lop·ing.
  1. to run off secretly to be married, usually without the consent or knowledge of one's parents or family.

  2. to run away with a lover.

  1. (of a patient or person in care) to leave or run away from a hospital, care facility, or safe area independently without notifying anyone.

  2. to leave without permission or notification; escape: At age 21, the apprentice eloped from his master.

Origin of elope

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; Middle English alopen (unrecorded) “to run away” (whence Anglo-French aloper ); see a-3, lope

Other words from elope

  • e·lope·ment, noun
  • e·lop·er, noun
  • un·e·loped, adjective
  • un·e·lop·ing, adjective

Words Nearby elope

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use elope in a sentence

  • Suffice it to say, a mutual passion was conceived between the two cousins, and my father persuaded her to elope with him.

  • I assure you that I wouldn't offer to elope with a suffrage tract, or a skirted treatise on socialism.

    Mountain | Clement Wood
  • I've never done anything romantic in my life, and I've always wanted to elope, or something.

    Isle o' Dreams | Frederick F. Moore
  • A couple of months ago she did me the honour to elope—temporarily, of course—with M. Paul Destournelle.

  • I could not elope with the shadow, it slipped away when the horse started, and waited on the road for its lawful owner.

    Peter Schlemihl | Adelbert von Chamisso

British Dictionary definitions for elope

elope

/ (ɪˈləʊp) /


verb
  1. (intr) to run away secretly with a lover, esp in order to marry

Origin of elope

1
C16: from Anglo-French aloper, perhaps from Middle Dutch lōpen to run; see lope

Derived forms of elope

  • elopement, noun
  • eloper, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012