abscond

verb

ab·​scond ab-ˈskänd How to pronounce abscond (audio)
əb-
absconded; absconding; absconds

intransitive verb

formal
: to depart secretly and hide oneself
He absconded with the stolen money.
absconder noun

Did you know?

In “Take the Money and Run,” a 1976 earworm by the Steve Miller Band, the singer punctuates a song about teenage bandits with the catchy refrain “Go on, take the money and run.” Granted, the song probably wouldn’t have charted had it been titled “Abscond,” but the meaning would have been the same. Abscond is a word most often used in formal writing for when someone is running and hiding from the law, often with cash or other ill-gotten gains. In legal circles it’s used specifically when someone flies like an eagle from a jurisdiction to evade the legal process, as in “absconded from parole.” The history of abscond doesn’t evade scrutiny: it comes from the Latin verb abscondere, meaning “to hide away.” (That word’s root is condere, meaning “to conceal.”) Today, whether some joker absconds by going to the country to bury some treasure or by taking a jet airliner beyond the law’s reach, they are, in essence, hiding themselves away.

Examples of abscond in a Sentence

The suspect absconded to Canada. Several prisoners absconded from the jail.
Recent Examples on the Web During all that, Jay absconded to Miami to record what would become his magnum opus. Damien Scott, Billboard, 19 Sep. 2024 The original Oriole team absconded to Manhattan in 1903 and were renamed the New York Highlanders — known since 1913 as the Yankees. Kenneth Lasson, Baltimore Sun, 5 Aug. 2024 Reacting to news that Puigdemont had again absconded from under the noses of a large deployment of the Catalan regional police force, a Supreme Court source said the judge had been clear in his instructions that the former regional president was to be arrested. Reuters, CNN, 8 Aug. 2024 The forested hamlet of Guerneville — a longtime haunt for hippies, artists, and members of LGBTQ+ community absconding from San Francisco, about 75 miles south — is located on the Russian River, a slow-moving waterway intermittently lined with beaches. Leilani Marie Labong, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for abscond 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'abscond.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin abscondere "to conceal, hide," from abs- (variant of ab- ab- before c- and t-) + condere "to put, store up, put away, conceal" — more at recondite

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of abscond was in 1652

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Dictionary Entries Near abscond

Cite this Entry

“Abscond.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abscond. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

abscond

verb
ab·​scond ab-ˈskänd How to pronounce abscond (audio)
əb-
formal
: to leave secretly and hide oneself
absconder noun

Legal Definition

abscond

intransitive verb
ab·​scond ab-ˈskänd, əb- How to pronounce abscond (audio)
: to depart secretly : withdraw and hide oneself
specifically : to evade the legal process of a court by hiding within or secretly leaving its jurisdiction
absconded with the funds
abscond from New York
abscond to Canada
absconder noun

More from Merriam-Webster on abscond

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