Definition of ABSCOND (original) (raw)
formal
: to depart secretly and hide oneself
He absconded with the stolen money.
Did you know?
In “Take the Money and Run,” a 1976 earworm by the Steve Miller Band, the singer punctuates a song about teenage bandits with the catchy refrain “Go on, take the money and run.” Granted, the song probably wouldn’t have charted had it been titled “Abscond,” but the meaning would have been the same. Abscond is a word most often used in formal writing for when someone is running and hiding from the law, often with cash or other ill-gotten gains. In legal circles it’s used specifically when someone flies like an eagle from a jurisdiction to evade the legal process, as in “absconded from parole.” The history of abscond doesn’t evade scrutiny: it comes from the Latin verb abscondere, meaning “to hide away.” (That word’s root is condere, meaning “to conceal.”) Today, whether some joker absconds by going to the country to bury some treasure or by taking a jet airliner beyond the law’s reach, they are, in essence, hiding themselves away.
Synonyms
Examples of abscond in a Sentence
The suspect absconded to Canada. Several prisoners absconded from the jail.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
But Trent’s mother is long dead — Celeste has absconded with her mother-in-law’s ashes. —
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024 In August, the most recent month for which the Probation Department provided figures, 402 of the 1,438 people under GPS monitoring had absconded, according to the statement. —Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024 During all that, Jay absconded to Miami to record what would become his magnum opus. —Damien Scott, Billboard, 19 Sep. 2024 The original Oriole team absconded to Manhattan in 1903 and were renamed the New York Highlanders — known since 1913 as the Yankees. —Kenneth Lasson, Baltimore Sun, 5 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for abscond 
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Latin abscondere "to conceal, hide," from abs- (variant of ab- ab- before c- and t-) + condere "to put, store up, put away, conceal" — more at recondite
First Known Use
1652, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of abscond was in 1652
Dictionary Entries Near abscond
Cite this Entry
“Abscond.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abscond. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
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Last Updated: 15 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences
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