tie the knot

present singular third person ties the knot · participle present tying the knot · participle past tied the knot · past tied the knot

1. idiomaticintransitiveTo marry, wed, get married.

   After the 20-year-old mechanic tied the knot with his 18-year-old cousin, the newlyweds headed to Baghdad's Ishtar Hotel.

   2002 November 25, Scott MacLeod, “Live from Baghdad”, in Time, archived from the original on 24 Apr 2008

   4 more examples

   Rowena sacrificed her inclination to remain single, to her sense of duty; and contracted a second matrimonial engagement. […] Cardinal Pandulfo tied the knot for them.

   1869, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 3, in Burlesques

   Couples tying the knot today will enjoy a marriage lasting an average of 40 years, according to an analysis of official statistics.

   2019 December 15, Nicholas Hellen, “Newlyweds now stay married longer than the Victorians”, in The Sunday Times, number 10,188, page 5

   Congratulations to newlyweds Liam and Jennifer King, who surprised passengers at Manchester Oxford Road in late May when they boarded a Northern service to complete the journey from Manchester registry office (where they had just tied the knot) to their wedding celebrations in Stockport.

   2022 July 13, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 961, page 71

   And no, they really didn’t know when the ceremony would begin. According to reports, the couple had already tied the knot in the US, making Friday’s event as symbolic as it was expensive.

   2025 June 27, Sam Jones, “Till Jeff us do part: divisive, star-studded Bezos wedding hits full swing in Venice”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: get hitched

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tie, the, knot.