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Glite Dictionary
to tie the knot

to tie the knot

26 3.1
To get married and begin life together as a couple
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : casarse
  • Their relationship continued from strength to strength and the pair eventually tied the knot in 2003.
  • a couple tying the knot
  • planning to tie the knot
  • decide to tie the knot

Maybe we're going towards a time of happier marriages because relationships can end before you tie the knot.

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Examples

  • It's none of my business, but when are you and Marietta gonna tie the knot?

    Fiction book (1990)

  • And then one day, Kate and I decided that we should tie the knot.

    Norbit (2007)

  • Are you going to tie the knot?

    Batman & Robin (1997)

  • Funny thing is, she asked me to tie the knot.

    Miller's Crossing (1990)

  • What do you say we go home and tie the knot?

    Off Beat (1986)

  • Are you planning to tie the knot?

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Look, I'm really excited about tying the knot, but can we just keep it small and private?

    Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

  • Tonight, Kat Valdez and Bastian will give it all they got and tie the knot.

    Marry Me (2022)

  • Danes and Dancy, who tied the knot in 2009, are keeping their child's gender a secret for now.

    Blog text (27)

  • The couple says they hope to tie the knot in the next six months.

Synonyms

to marry
vsto tie the knot
∞ 1.0

To become someone's husband or wife in a ceremony

emphasizes an informal idiom for entering a union rather than ceremony details
to get married
vsto tie the knot
∞ 1.0

To officially become someone's husband or wife

is an informal idiom for entering a union rather than a legal phrase
to wed
vsto tie the knot
  • Formal
24 2.8

To marry someone in a ceremony

is an idiomatic way to enter a union rather than emphasizing ceremony formality
to get hitched with
vsto tie the knot
  • Informal
7.3

Marry someone, often in a small informal ceremony

is a more neutral idiom for entering a union rather than slangy talk

Antonyms

divorce
963 2.9

An official ending of a marriage by a court

How Formal

to take a wife
  • Archaic
5 9.2
to marry
∞ 1.0
to get married
∞ 1.0
to tie the knot
  • Informal
26 3.1
to get hitched with
  • Informal
7.3

Surface Forms

tie the knot infinitive
tied the knot past
tied the knot past participle
tying the knot present participle
ties the knot third person singular

Morphology

tie + the + knot

Although the literal words 'tie' and 'knot' suggest binding or joining — which can metaphorically extend to joining two people — the specific conventional meaning 'to get married' is not fully predictable from the constituents for an average B1 learner. The phrase is a conventionalized, metaphorical idiom (with variable cross‑linguistic equivalents), so partial inference is possible but prior exposure is typically required.

Etymology

The idiom tie the knot may come from an old wedding practice where the couple's hands or ribbons were literally tied together, so the tie and the knot give a clear picture of two people being joined. One popular story says people 'tied the knot' to show a promise, and that's why the phrase now means 'to get married'.