elope

American  

[ih-lohp] / ɪˈloʊp /

verb (used without object)

• elopes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• eloped,
  past participle,  past
• eloping
  present participle

1. 1. to run off secretly to be married, usually without the consent or knowledge of one's parents or family.

   2. to get married in a small ceremony with few or no guests and often without a reception.

      After the stress of planning my first wedding, I decided that this time I'd just elope.

2. to run away with a lover.

3. 1. to leave without permission or notification; escape.

      At age 21, the apprentice eloped from his master.

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

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elope British  

/ ɪˈləʊp /

verb

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• elopement
  noun
• eloper
  noun
• uneloped
  adjective
• uneloping
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• eloping
  present
• eloped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• elope
  simple
• elopes
  simple
• have eloped
  perfect
• has eloped
  perfect
• am eloping
  progressive
• are eloping
  progressive
• is eloping
  progressive
• have been eloping
  perfect progressive
• has been eloping
  perfect progressive

Past

• eloped
  simple
• had eloped
  perfect
• was eloping
  progressive
• were eloping
  progressive
• had been eloping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will elope
  simple
• will have eloped
  perfect
• will be eloping
  progressive
• will have been eloping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of elope

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

Explanation

When you elope, you run away with the person you love. Usually, you elope to get married without anyone knowing in advance. The word elope probably originated with the Middle Dutch word lopen, meaning "run away." Couples who elope typically don't seek anyone's permission before running off to get married, not even their parents. Often, that's the whole point of wanting to elope: you can avoid dealing with anyone who might opt to "speak now" instead "holding their peace."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

elope elopes eloped eloping

But Harmony Elmy and Seán Mauremootoo wanted none of that, choosing to elope to a place that held "special" memories for them both.

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025

He is engaged to his longtime girlfriend with plans to elope.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025

When Abraham read the script, he really got upset because up until that time, he thought that it was Chris’ idea to elope and that Chris had corrupted his beautiful daughter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2025

And they don’t plan to elope, Zephyr says.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

It was going to make its usual quick stop at 8:17, and the runaway couple were going to elope on it.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

While giving a gift when a couple in your life elopes is a nice gesture, wedding etiquette experts say it’s not required.

From Slate ● Mar. 24, 2023

Her 18-year-old sister, Leah, is secretly dating a Hindu boy whose family emigrated from India; when Ari’s and Leah’s parents refuse to accept the relationship, Leah elopes with Raj and disappears.

From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2021

Antonio is never seen, Portia doesn’t even rate a mention, while Shylock’s relationship with his daughter, Jessica, who elopes with Lorenzo, a Christian, becomes central to the story.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2018

Bennett's most famous novel The Old Wives' Tale is about two sisters one of whom elopes to a scandalous life in France and the other who stays at home running the family draper's shop.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2014

It is, you understand, a romantic episode: the daughter of a well-known financier elopes with a foreign soldier.

From The Coast of Adventure by Harold Bindloss

In 2017, the couple revealed that they had quietly eloped in an intimate ceremony.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

“Downton Abbey” welcomed Tom Branson, a working-class Irishman, into their home and family when the youngest Crawley daughter, Sybil, eloped with him.

From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026

Mary Kay excelled in high school but eloped at age 16 with her first husband, Julius Ben Rogers, and gave birth to two children in rapid succession.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Then, when she was 18, Janet suddenly and unexpectedly eloped with doe-eyed soul singer James DeBarge.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2024

None of us had seen Sanaubar since she had eloped with a band of singers and dancers in 1964, just after she had given birth to Hassan.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

However, eloping couples could pop over the border and be married simply by stating their intent in front of witnesses - usually at the blacksmiths.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

In one trajectory, Helen makes the virtuous decision to avoid eloping with the impatient Jed; she is rewarded for her sacrifice with two decades of spinsterhood—in this universe, a tragic outcome.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025

Then he got an offer from a Christian label in Nashville; he moved again and immediately met a woman with whom he ended up eloping.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2024

Sticks and stones aren't enough to thwart biological attraction, but sometimes those are the only tools available to pastoralists trying to prevent wildlife from eloping with their livestock.

From Science Daily ● May 29, 2024

But whereas I thought the big news today was Grandpa’s eloping, the first thing Papa said was something about the average life span in America being forty-seven years.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Related Words

• run off