elopement

[ ih-lohp-muhnt ]
See synonyms for elopement on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an act or instance of running off secretly, as to be married.

  2. an act or instance of a patient or person in care leaving a hospital, care facility, or safe area independently without notifying anyone: Nursing homes need strategies to cope with elopement.: See also wandering (def. 6).

Origin of elopement

1
First recorded in 1600–10; elope + -ment

Other words from elopement

  • non·e·lope·ment, noun

Words Nearby elopement

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

How to use elopement in a sentence

  • Oh, but the elopement of a young unmarried couple is a pretty romance; ours would be a hideous scandal.

    What Will People Say? | Rupert Hughes
  • Your mother has suffered too much unhappiness by your first elopement: I shall not so easily permit you to quit her a second time.