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Synonyms

on the lam

Idioms  

  1. Running away, especially from the police, as in He's always in some kind of trouble and perpetually on the lam. The origin of this slangy term of the 1800s is not known.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Monkeys on the lam in St. Louis and AI isn’t helping.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 15, 2026

Robert Redford became a bankable leading man in 1969, when “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” about a pair of outlaws on the lam, turned him into a paragon of the movie star.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

Two tough women: Aminah Nieves as Teonna, who is on the lam.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2025

They went on the lam to Chicago, Florida, and Arizona, and points in between.

From Slate • Dec. 18, 2024

These are other painters, on the lam from irate landlords or between odd jobs.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.