tie the knot

Meaning

'Tie the knot' is an informal, colloquial idiom that means to get married. It is a warm, lighthearted, and common way to describe a wedding ceremony or the act of marriage.

Examples

• After dating for ten years, they finally decided to tie the knot.

  After dating for ten years, they finally decided to tie the knot.

• They are planning to tie the knot in a small beach ceremony next summer.

  They are planning to tie the knot in a small beach ceremony next summer.

• Did you hear that Mark and Jessica tied the knot last weekend?

  Did you hear that Mark and Jessica tied the knot last weekend?

• We want to save some money before we tie the knot.

  We want to save some money before we tie the knot.

• They tied the knot in secret while vacationing in Las Vegas.

  They tied the knot in secret while vacationing in Las Vegas.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ They tied a knot last week.

  ✓ They tied the knot last week.

  This is a fixed idiom. You must use the definite article 'the' ('tie the knot'), not 'a knot'.

• ✗ He tied the knot with her.

  ✓ They tied the knot.

  While you can occasionally hear 'tie the knot with someone', it is much more natural to use 'tie the knot' with a plural subject (e.g., 'they tied the knot') or use 'get married to someone' for singular targets.

Related Expressions

Practice

• My sister and her fiancé are going to ___ in June.

  💡 Get married.

  Show answer

  tie the knot

• They've been engaged for two years, but they haven't ___ yet.

  💡 Gotten married.

  Show answer

  tied the knot