go AWOL

Cultural  

1. To take unauthorized time off from work, school, or other duties: “Let's go AWOL and catch a baseball game this afternoon.” AWOL is an acronym for “absent without leave [permission].” The term originated with the military during World War I.

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Example Sentences

Can you take us inside James's head when he does go AWOL?

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2024

Hall didn’t seem the kind of person to go AWOL.

From Washington Post • Sep. 2, 2016

Bergdahl isn’t the first soldier to go AWOL.

From The Guardian • Mar. 31, 2016

Angelique Borden, who spent nearly five years at the facility beginning in 2007, said the male residents often pressured the girls to go AWOL.

From Chicago Tribune • Dec. 5, 2014

I’m worried there’s some law about reporting homeschooled kids when they go AWOL.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Related Words

• betray
• bolt
• depart
• escape
• flee
• forsake
• give up
• quit
• vacate