elope

verb

i-ˈlōp 

eloped; eloping

intransitive verb

1

a

: to run away secretly with the intention of getting married usually without parental consent

… Waterman was a peevish child who grew into a defiant teenager, eloped at 18 largely to shock his father, and then—far too young—was a father himself.

—Elizabeth Gilbert

b

: to run away from one's spouse with a lover

" … when they had been married nearly seven years, and were within a few weeks of the time when the brother's death would have adjusted all, she eloped with a younger man, and left him."

—Charles Dickens

2

a

: to slip away : escape

… might have mistaken him for … some scarecrow eloped from a cornfield.

—Washington Irving

b

: to leave a health care or educational facility without permission or authorization

…10 suicidal patients deemed 'high risk for suicide' eloped from the Emergency Department from October 2014 and February 2015.

—Charles S. Clark

Police in Ohio said this week that they gave a nursing home resident a ride and dropped him off at a gas station without ever knowing he was a dementia patient who had eloped.

—Kimberly Marselas

elopement

i-ˈlōp-mənt 

noun

plural elopements

… the young couple at a nearby table sent over some of their dessert, a slice of cake specially ordered to celebrate their elopement.

—David Massey

… if the child is afraid of loud noises or crowded environments, a classroom could be intimidating and cause him to be anxious. He might engage in problematic behaviors such as elopement (running away), hand flapping, or yelling …

—Erica Kearney

eloper noun

plural elopers

And of course, Las Vegas is no longer just for elopers. With all the elegant hotels springing up in Sin City, more couples are choosing to haul the whole wedding party out and do things up right.

—John Winters

Examples of elope in a Sentence

The couple eloped in the middle of the night.

Recent Examples on the Web

Children on the autism spectrum tend to wander, or elope, from home and other safe places at a higher rate than their peers, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. —Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024

George and his wife, Claire, eloped in 2019 — Bruce officiated the ceremony — and hosted another wedding in 2021. —Nasha Smith, People.com, 10 Oct. 2024

Affleck and Lopez eloped in Las Vegas in 2022 and later held a lavish wedding ceremony attended by friends and family at Affleck’s sprawling estate outside of Savannah, Georgia. —Lisa Respers France, CNN, 12 July 2024

Claire, stuck at O’Hare on the way home from a client meeting, uses various Apple applications to figure out if Haley has run away to elope with Dylan (Reid Ewing). —Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 29 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Anglo-French aloper, esloper to abduct, run away

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Kids Definition

elope

verb

i-ˈlōp 

eloped; eloping

: to run away secretly especially to get married without parental consent

elopement

-mənt 

noun

eloper noun