Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To run away with a lover, especially with the intention of getting married.
- intransitive verb To run away; abscond.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To run away; escape; break loose from legal or natural ties; specifically, to run away with a lover or paramour in defiance of duty or social restraints.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To run away, or escape privately, from the place or station to which one is bound by duty; -- said especially of a woman or a man, either married or unmarried, who runs away with a paramour or a sweetheart.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb intransitive, of a married person To
run away from home with aparamour . - verb intransitive To run away secretly for the purpose of getting
married with one's intended spouse; to marry in a quick or private fashion, especially without a public period ofengagement . - verb intransitive (
dated ) To run away from home (for any reason).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb run away secretly with one's beloved
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The old-fashioned meaning of the word elope was used to describe a married woman who ran away with her lover.
Products & Shopping 2009
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As revealed by this How Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt's Marriage Has Ruined My Life The Hills dashed off to Mexico to "elope" (luckily Us Weekly happened to be vacationing on the same beach and had their cameras with them).
Gawker 2009
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That was when she planned to "elope" with Thapa and the two decided to come to Goa, the cook reportedly told cops.
The Times of India 2009
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I just find it sweet and silly how children so young could think that they could escape to a foreign country and 'elope' together.
Charcoal Ink 2009
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As revealed by this How Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt's Marriage Has Ruined My Life The Hills dashed off to Mexico to "elope" (luckily Us Weekly happened to be vacationing on the same beach and had their cameras with them).
Gawker 2009
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As revealed by this How Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt's Marriage Has Ruined My Life The Hills dashed off to Mexico to "elope" (luckily Us Weekly happened to be vacationing on the same beach and had their cameras with them).
Gawker 2009
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Fed up with the near-Arctic temperatures at home, a seven-year-old German girl and her six-year-old boyfriend hatched a plan to "elope" to Africa and get married in the sun.
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As revealed by this How Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt's Marriage Has Ruined My Life The Hills dashed off to Mexico to "elope" (luckily Us Weekly happened to be vacationing on the same beach and had their cameras with them).
Gawker 2009
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Fed up with the near-Arctic temperatures at home, a seven-year-old German girl and her six-year-old boyfriend hatched a plan to "elope" to Africa and get married in the sun.
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This is not Sarah's parents they are lying to this time, and they probably don't get the chance to "elope" to Washington DC either by the looks of the polls.
WordPress.com News 2008
whichbe commented on the word elope
You can'tenlope!
September 6, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word elope
Song quotation on ablaze.
May 14, 2010