marriage of convenience

American

noun

marriage entered into for a personal or family advantage, as for social, political, or economic reasons, usually without love and sometimes without the expectation of sexual relations.

marriage of convenience British

noun

a marriage based on expediency rather than on love

"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

Etymology

Origin of marriage of convenience

First recorded in 1705–15

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.

What used to be an alliance of kindred souls is viewed by both sides today as a marriage of convenience, loveless and lacking basic trust.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

It was to be a marriage of convenience — convenient business-wise for both Roscoe and Charlie.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025

The film, about a bisexual Taiwanese landlord who enters a marriage of convenience with his woman tenant to quell his persistent parents, was a major success among critics and audiences.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025

At first, the song is one big eye-roll: Just shut up and admit the truth, Chappell insists, before you get trapped in a loveless, heterosexual marriage of convenience.

From BBC • Sep. 13, 2024

It is clear even to me that it is a marriage of convenience and not of love.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

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