Elopement refers to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married without parental approval. Elopement is contrasted with abduction (e.g., bride kidnapping) in which there is no consent from the bride or groom.

The term is sometimes used in its original, more general sense of escape or flight (e.g., from a psychiatric institution). Controversially, in modern times "elopement" is sometimes applied to any small, inexpensive wedding, even when performed with parental foreknowledge.