# shotgun wedding

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A wedding in which the bride is already pregnant.
2. A wedding which is made in haste or under duress.
3. Any similarly reputedly forced partnership, between people, organizations, components, or concepts.

## Etymology
From the implication that the groom was forced to the altar by shotgun-wielding relatives of the bride.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shotgun-wedding