abscond
Americanverb (used without object)
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:
The Man of Steel combats gigantic robots programmed to abscond with jewels and other valuables and then take to the air to return to their mad-genius minder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
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
GPS devices are generally seen by probation officials, prosecutors and judges as reducing the risk that a defendant will abscond or commit a new crime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024
A government source admitted it was possible some could abscond before they were detained.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 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
He absconds and leaves four robots adrift, but with aid from unhoused human “robles,” they reconfigure the joint as a ramen shop — until robophobes launch a campaign to shut them down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2025
Now on view in a mostly sleek Mosaic Theater Company production, “Fabulation” tells of Undine, an African American PR bigwig whose world unravels after her husband absconds with her money.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 28, 2019
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
If the principal absconds from the State, the surety can have him followed and brought back without any warrant of arrest.
From The American Judiciary by Baldwin, Simeon E., LLD
Khalife sparked a nationwide manhunt when he absconded from HMP Wandsworth, where he was awaiting trial on spying charges, by tying himself to the bottom of a food delivery truck.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Last year, North Koreans absconded with $1.5 billion from crypto exchange Bybit, the largest crypto heist ever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
A prisoner has absconded from a hospital in London for the second time in less than a week.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
“If this data has been absconded or downloaded, you could perpetuate fraud against every single government system in existence much more easily than at any time in our history.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026
Sybil had absconded with Molly when her daughter was only two, toting her child all the way.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood made the decision to "block" Dunlop's move to open conditions despite the board assessing him as "presenting a low risk of absconding".
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2025
One was convicted in a related minor case but later acquitted, and one of the accused is still absconding.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2024
Wright suggested that defense attorneys wanted him free “likely to facilitate his absconding from the United States.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
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.
