abscond
Americanverb (used without object)
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absconds,
present (3rd person singular)
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absconded,
past participle, past
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absconding
present participle
verb
Usage
What does abscond mean? Abscond means to leave secretly and suddenly, especially to avoid being caught, punished, or put on trial. The word typically implies that someone has left because they have done something wrong and want to avoid any consequences. Criminals abscond to get away with their crimes. A more informal term for abscond is make one’s getaway. Abscond is often followed by the word with and the thing that the person has absconded with, such as the things they’ve stolen, as in It’s too late—he’s already absconded with the diamond!In a legal context, abscond is often used to mean that someone has left to avoid prosecution or legal proceedings that have already begun. Abscond is sometimes used in a humorous way to liken someone to a criminal, as in Jeff absconded with the rest of the doughnuts or The dog absconded with my cheeseburger. A person who absconds can be called an absconder or an abscondee. Example: The thieves absconded with the loot before the authorities arrived at the scene.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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abscondsimple
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abscondssimple
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have abscondedperfect
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has abscondedperfect
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am abscondingprogressive
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are abscondingprogressive
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is abscondingprogressive
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have been abscondingperfect progressive
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has been abscondingperfect progressive
Past
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abscondedsimple
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had abscondedperfect
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was abscondingprogressive
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were abscondingprogressive
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had been abscondingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abscond
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin abscondere “to hide or stow away,” equivalent to abs- abs- + condere “to stow” ( con- con- + -dere “to put”; see do 1)
Explanation
Abscond is to escape, often taking something along. As a kid, you may have absconded from your lemonade stand — with the coffee can of cash in hand, and your bewildered sister still filling cups for your customers. Abscond is generally used to describe someone running from law or capture, and the word abscond has been in use since the early 16th century — running away and hiding being nothing new. Dogs who get off the leash and dart into the woods are not necessarily absconding; they are simply making a break for it. On the other hand, the Ponzi schemer who went to live in the South of France with his client's money? He absconded.
Vocabulary lists containing abscond
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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.
See Examples For:
After Tim and Virginia have a confrontation with the ministorage security, they abscond to Oklahoma, where Virginia has plans for a big score.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
His house was encumbered with liens and he’d sold a “prop plane” that prosecutors cited when arguing he was a risk to abscond, Maitia said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
It’s a far cry from the sleek criminals of streaming series, who seldom budge from their computers and abscond with millions and billions thanks to a few clicks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2025
During the extradition process Mr Assange has been kept in London's high security Belmarsh prison over fears he could abscond.
From BBC ● May 19, 2024
A first-rate Russian might easily abscond to the more affluent West.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
She said the rate of absconds was "coming down substantially", with 57 cases in the year ending March 2025 compared to 143 in the year ending March 2020.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
If your investment manager absconds with your tokens, or a merchant fails to deliver what you bought with your bitcoin, you’re on your own.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2024
Rather than discarding the series’ dated gender dynamics, Odyssey at first appears to speed-run right into them: Bowser, Mario’s Godzilla-like nemesis for more than 30 years, absconds with Princess Peach in order to marry her.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2017
In beta decay, he speculated, a second, unseen particle emerges with the electron and absconds with a random fraction of the energy.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 29, 2017
We all hide ourselves behind veils, and, as Emerson says, "Man crouches and blushes, absconds and conceals."
From The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Frank Preston Stearns
"At that stage the prisoner had already absconded for a few hours, so we weren't aware at all of any application for compassionate leave," she told BBC News NI.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Shortly after Khalife absconded from prison, at around 20:41 BST, Khan messaged his then-girlfriend Chowdhury's bank details and told her to "put 120£ in this ac… please thank u baby".
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
He had reportedly absconded after Twisha's death and was arrested by police in Jabalpur on 22 May.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Crypto firms are racing to backstop the industry’s biggest decentralized lender after North Korea-linked hackers absconded with $190 million from the platform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
The nostalgia is the stronger and the more ambiguous because he is really ‘in quest of his own absconded self yet scared to find it’.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
In the 1940s, for example, he sets out to collect scrap iron for the war effort and ends up absconding with a private collection of military memorabilia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
But was it an egregious, personal error, akin to Totenberg stealing into Alito’s hotel room and absconding with an internal organ, as it has been widely treated?
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
A complaint has been filed against the factory owner and foreman, both of whom are absconding, police said, adding that four special teams have been set up to trace and arrest them.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
"Before making a recommendation the parole board conducts a thorough assessment of the offender's risk of harm and risk of absconding," said Davies-Jones.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
In addition to absconding with twenty-five thousand dollars and giving Milton false hopes of my return, Father Mike was abandoning his own family.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
