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
Usually when an actor in a major role skedaddles a series in mid-stream — because of firings, feuds, contract fights, health crises or creative flameouts — the show finds a way to go on.
—
Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 23 May 2026
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
Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 23 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skedaddle
Verb
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He was spotted ducking down in a field as traffic passed by and fled before he was found in a small cave, police have said.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
1 June 2026
-
If your husband can limit his exposure to them without having to flee his own house, the situation may feel less awkward.—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Luna and Lee both believe frustration will die down by November about trash fees and Balboa Park parking, which the City Council retreated on by agreeing to a complex deal last month.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 June 2026
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To their credit, the Wayans don’t entirely retreat from controversy.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
4 June 2026
Verb
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Starship and Blue Moon both have a ways to go before NASA will certify the vehicles to fly astronauts, so any time lost on that front by Blue Origin could further narrow NASA's options and increase the risk of setbacks to the agency's lunar landing timeline.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
3 June 2026
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To better understand the challenges Blue Origin now faces, Ars spoke with several SpaceX veterans who experienced the AMOS-6 failure and worked the long days afterward to get the Falcon 9 rocket flying and rebuild the shattered facility at Space Launch Complex-40.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Neto bolted home with a feet-first slide.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
-
In this type of test, called a static fire, a rocket is fueled and its engines are ignited to test the onboard systems, but the booster remains bolted to the launch pad and does not lift off.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
Verb
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My father was running the skid steer outside, clearing the snow, leaving dirty white mounds to either side of the driveway that led from the house out to the range road.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) will advance to the general election to run America’s second-most-populous city, the Associated Press projected early Wednesday, as Republican reality TV star Spencer Pratt led the challengers vying to compete against her in November.—
Hannah Knowles,
Washington Post,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Mission Viejo right fielder Riley Campbell collected her third hit in the seventh to bring the tying run to the plate but Herrera escaped another jam to spark a celebratory dogpile.—
Dan Albano,
Oc Register,
31 May 2026
-
There's no doubt that when temperatures start to rise and approach 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the only way to survive is to find places with fans or air conditioning, or, if possible, escape to the beach or pool to cool off.—
Marilú Almaguer,
Glamour,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skedaddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skedaddle. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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