abscond

/əbˈskɑnd/

/æbˈskɒnd/

Other forms: absconded; absconding; absconds

Abscond is to escape, often taking something along. As a kid, you may have absconded from your lemonade stand — with the coffee can of cash in hand, and your bewildered sister still filling cups for your customers.

Abscond is generally used to describe someone running from law or capture, and the word abscond has been in use since the early 16th century — running away and hiding being nothing new. Dogs who get off the leash and dart into the woods are not necessarily absconding; they are simply making a break for it. On the other hand, the Ponzi schemer who went to live in the South of France with his client's money? He absconded.

Definitions of abscond

1. verb

   run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along
   “the accountant absconded with the cash from the safe”

   synonyms: absquatulate, bolt, decamp, go off, make off, run off

   types:

   levant

   run off without paying a debt

   type of:

   flee, fly, take flight

   run away quickly