Gretna Green

American

noun

a village in S Scotland, near the English border, to which many English couples formerly eloped to be married.

Gretna Green British

/ ˈɡrɛtnə /

noun

a village in S Scotland, in Dumfries and Galloway on the border with England: famous smithy where eloping couples were married by the blacksmith from 1754 until 1940, when such marriages became illegal. Pop: 2705 (2001)

"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

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.

New plans have been submitted for a giant landmark artwork - the Star of Caledonia - to be built on the Scotland-England border near Gretna Green.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2025

Our last frontier was at Gretna Green on our drive to Edinburgh.

From Washington Post • Dec. 15, 2016

Brentwood Farmers Market: Every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Brentwood farmers market takes over Gretna Green Way.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2015

Caroline Flint and Stephen Twigg, sitting next to each other, joked they were running off to Gretna Green to elope.

From The Guardian • Sep. 11, 2014

I fancied mock parsons, sham marriages, and carrying off young ladies by night, went out of fashion with Gretna Green and Mrs. Radcliffe's romances.

From Norine's Revenge; Sir Noel's Heir by Fleming, May Agnes

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023