elopement
Americannoun
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an act or instance of running off secretly, especially to be married.
-
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.
-
a small wedding ceremony with few or no guests and often without a reception.
The couple had a quiet elopement in Dublin with only their parents and an officiant present.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of elopement
First recorded in 1600–10; elope ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Elopement adventures remained a “very niche” field until the COVID-19 pandemic, Flynn says.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2025
Here are some of my favorite things to do and places to eat in the Elopement Capital of the Midwest.
From Salon • Sep. 24, 2022
Q. Elopement: My fiancée and I have always wanted a small wedding and have planned for an elopement out of state with only three guests.
From Slate • Aug. 22, 2016
It happens that Lundigan is talking about another woman, but the attributes fit Francis, who was only 20 during the Elopement shoot.
From Time • Jan. 8, 2011
Cardinal, his Elopement when the Pope went to deprive him of his Hat, 93 to 95.Asti, t.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
