as in to flee
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
we skedaddled as soon as we saw the snake entering our campsite
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Recent Examples of skedaddle
There’s good reason to skedaddle too since more than rest and mending are going on inside and out.
—
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
Many politicians with ambitions for higher office arrive at events, are introduced, wave, shake a few hands and skedaddled to the next block on the schedule.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2025
But not on this episode, because Abby and the gang were already skedaddling back to Seattle.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 21 Apr. 2025
The Nazis took the bait, hook, line and sinker, and skedaddled to Sardinia, smoothing the way for the Allies to take Sicily, a major turning point in World War II.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025
The Nazis took the bait, hook, line and sinker, and skedaddled to Sardinia, smoothing the way for the Allies to take Sicily and marking a major turning point in World War II.
—Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2025
The sun's peeping out, and the budding journalists skedaddle outside, where their friends are just arriving.
—Lauren Migaki, NPR, 22 Feb. 2025
The Confederates saw the score and promptly skedaddled.
—Scott Spillman, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2025
Among the five Lab rats are two bosses: onscreen personality Edna (Chloë Sevigny) and Dave (Simon Rex), her partner in business and life, who soon skedaddles back to the States to deal with some legal matters that everyone but Edna is aware of.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
Many politicians with ambitions for higher office arrive at events, are introduced, wave, shake a few hands and skedaddled to the next block on the schedule.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2025
But not on this episode, because Abby and the gang were already skedaddling back to Seattle.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 21 Apr. 2025
The Nazis took the bait, hook, line and sinker, and skedaddled to Sardinia, smoothing the way for the Allies to take Sicily, a major turning point in World War II.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025
The Nazis took the bait, hook, line and sinker, and skedaddled to Sardinia, smoothing the way for the Allies to take Sicily and marking a major turning point in World War II.
—Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2025
The sun's peeping out, and the budding journalists skedaddle outside, where their friends are just arriving.
—Lauren Migaki, NPR, 22 Feb. 2025
The Confederates saw the score and promptly skedaddled.
—Scott Spillman, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2025
Among the five Lab rats are two bosses: onscreen personality Edna (Chloë Sevigny) and Dave (Simon Rex), her partner in business and life, who soon skedaddles back to the States to deal with some legal matters that everyone but Edna is aware of.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skedaddle
Verb
-
From April 2020 to July 2025, 182,000 residents fled to other states, causing a demographic decline and a serious brain drain.—
Betsy McCaughey,
Boston Herald,
16 Mar. 2026
-
When officers tried to intervene, the man fled in a car, police said.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
No more eight-minute buffer to retreat to.—
Jennifer Wolfgram,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
-
My group watched two sets of soldiers march in, twirl their guns, click their heels, and then retreat out of sight.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
One diner, who works in the hospitality industry and is flying across the country to attend the pop-up and visit friends, is keeping his seat.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
-
In another set of images by photographer Ian Recchio, who goes by @Lookunderocks on Instagram, another aircraft, described as a business-jet-type platform, was seen flying below the refueling formation.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Traditional solar panel systems, which can cost more than $20,000, are bolted to a homeowner's roof.—
Jeff Brady,
NPR,
12 Mar. 2026
-
That was accomplished by bolting together several aluminum panels.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Police said Baima had robbed a BMO bank branch before running from officers and pointing what appeared to be a handgun at them.—
Daniel Hunt,
Sacbee.com,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Harris, a Democrat who ran for the seat in 2024, is a retired Brigadier General who spent 40 years in the military before becoming a cattle producer in Polk County.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Griffin Jax tossed a perfect sixth before David Bednar escaped a seventh-inning jam with two on and one out by striking out Tatis and Marte.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
16 Mar. 2026
-
The mother is a Filipina former model, who moved to New York—partly to escape the judgment of her parents in Manila—and raised her daughter (with the help of her sister) as a single woman.—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skedaddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skedaddle. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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