Idiom
Tie the knot
To tie the knot is to get married.
How people use it
It is a light, friendly way to talk about weddings: my cousins are tying the knot in June. It works for a couple or for one person (she tied the knot last year). It is informal and often used in announcements, headlines and toasts. It refers to the wedding itself, not to dating or getting engaged. Tied the knot is the usual past form.
Examples
- After eight years together, Sam and Priya finally tied the knot on a beach.
- My grandparents tied the knot in a small town hall with just ten guests.
- Are you two planning to tie the knot next summer?
Where it comes from
Knots have stood for marriage and lasting bonds for a very long time, and English used knot for the marriage bond as early as the Middle Ages. The phrase tie the knot for marrying is recorded by the early 1700s. Some link it to handfasting, an old custom of binding a couple's hands with cord, but the knot image is so widespread that no single ceremony can be named as the source.
Check yourself
1. What does it mean if a couple ties the knot?
Answer: They get married. Tie the knot is a casual way to say get married.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: Grace and Omar tied the knot in a garden ceremony.. The idiom means marrying, not breaking up or going on a first date.
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