Meaning & use
go down the aisle
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Meanings
phraseidiominformalfigurative
To get married, especially in a traditional church ceremony where the bride walks to the altar.
Grammar: Used as a fixed phrase, usually in the context of weddings: they went down the aisle last June.
Patterns
- go down the aisle with someone
- go down the aisle together
- ready to go down the aisle
After ten years together, they finally decided to go down the aisle.
Her parents cried when she went down the aisle with her college sweetheart.
He joked that he would never go down the aisle, but he changed his mind.
phraseidiom
Literally, to walk along the passage between rows of seats, as in a church or theater.
Grammar: Literal use describes actual movement down a physical aisle: the bride went down the aisle slowly.
Patterns
- go down the aisle slowly
- go down the aisle toward something
The bride went down the aisle on her father's arm.
Please go down the aisle and find your seats before the show begins.
Common combinations
- go down the aisle together
- The couple plans to go down the aisle together next spring.
- finally go down the aisle
- After a long engagement, they finally went down the aisle.
- walk down the aisle
- She asked her grandfather to walk her down the aisle.
- go down the aisle with someone
- Everyone wondered if he would go down the aisle with Maria.
Synonyms and how they differ
- get married
- Get married is the plain, neutral expression; go down the aisle is more informal and paints a picture of the wedding ceremony.
- tie the knot
- Tie the knot is another informal idiom for marrying, often used in news and conversation, and does not mention the church setting.
- wed
- Wed is a formal or literary verb for getting married; go down the aisle is conversational.
Opposites
Word family
- aisle noun
- The passage between rows of seats in a church, theater, or plane.
Commonly confused: go down the aisle or isle? go down the aisle or walk down the aisle?
go down the aisle vs isle
Isle means an island and sounds the same as aisle; "go down the isle" would be a spelling mistake.
go down the aisle vs walk down the aisle
Walk down the aisle is the more common version and can also mean the bride's entrance; go down the aisle usually refers to the couple marrying.
Practice
What does "go down the aisle" most often mean in everyday conversation?
Choose one answer.
The idiom almost always refers to getting married, from the image of walking down a church aisle. The other options take the words literally and miss the fixed meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “go down the aisle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.