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.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

go AWOL

For James to decide to go AWOL, he could have ended up in military prison.

From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2024

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

From Washington Post ● Sep. 2, 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

Did British soldiers go AWOL, joining both Arab and Israeli fighters in the months leading up to Israel's declaration of independence?

From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2011

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