skedaddle

[ ski-dad-l ]

/ skɪˈdæd l /

Informal.

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verb (used without object), ske·dad·dled, ske·dad·dling.

to run away hurriedly; flee.

noun

a hasty flight.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of skedaddle

1860–65, Americanism; compare dial. (Scots, N England) skedaddle to spill, scatter, skiddle to move away quickly

Words nearby skedaddle

Skaw, skean, skean dhu, Skeat, sked, skedaddle, skedaddler, skee, Skee-Ball, skeef, Skeena

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use skedaddle in a sentence

Skedaddle onto the equally heart-stopping Million Dollar Highway to Ouray and Telluride.
The U.S. Road Trips You Should Really Take|Lonely Planet|April 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Obedient to this command The Hopper made the car skedaddle, but superstitious dread settled upon him more heavily.
A Reversible Santa Claus|Meredith Nicholson
Let him plant his light and airy form onto the Long Bridge, make faces at the hirelin' foe, and they'll skedaddle!
The Complete Works of Artemus Ward|Charles Farrar Browne (AKA Artemus Ward)
The prairie took fire from Company G's cook-fire, making us skedaddle at a double-quick.
History of Company E of the Sixth Minnesota Regiment of Volunteer Infantry|Alfred J. Hill

Truxton shot one of 'em, but that put the infernals in the rest, an the old feller had to 'skedaddle,' as they say in these days.
Letters of Major Jack Downing, of the Downingville Militia|Seba Smith
If we got interfered with by anybody official, we meant to talk some rot about the Borough Surveyor, and skedaddle if necessary.
The Right Stuff|Ian Hay

British Dictionary definitions for skedaddle

skedaddle

/ (skɪˈdædəl) informal /

verb

(intr) to run off hastily

noun

a hasty retreat

Word Origin for skedaddle

C19: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

skedaddle

Origin of skedaddle

Words nearby skedaddle

Words related to skedaddle

How to use skedaddle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for skedaddle

Word Origin for skedaddle