to leave at the altar
12
7.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
dejar plantado en el altar
- She was heartbroken after he left her at the altar on their wedding day.
- fiancé left her at the altar
- guy left at the altar
- left you standing at the altar
Examples
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I know a girl who got left at the altar but still went on her honeymoon to Jamaica.
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You left me standing at the altar!
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How was I supposed to know he got left at the altar?
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For the third time you left me standing at the altar.
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Did he leave her at the altar?
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You left me at the altar!
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You left her at the altar?
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You left me at the altar, remember?
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Did you ruin my life when you left me at the altar?
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When you leave someone at the altar, there’s usually a pretty legit reason.
Blog text (31)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To not take something or someone with you when you go
773
3.1
Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care
501
5.1
To end a romantic relationship suddenly and without care
38
6.9
To leave someone who needs your help
14
7.4
To suddenly leave a partner in a careless, unkind way
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to abandon someone at the last moment before marriage' is directly derivable from 'leave' (to abandon) combined with 'at the altar' (the location in a church where weddings are held). While basic cultural knowledge that weddings take place at an altar helps, the phrase is compositionally literal and therefore predictable to learners who know the constituent words.
Etymology
The phrase leave at the altar paints a clear picture: someone stands at the altar in a church ready to marry while their partner suddenly leaves, leaving them alone right before the wedding. That's why it means 'to abandon someone just before a wedding'.