definition of the word abscond

From the Latin abscondere (to hide), formed from abs-, ab-, + condere (to lay up), from con- + dere (to put).

• (RP) IPA: /əbˈskɒnd/, SAMPA: /@b"skQnd/
• (US) enPR: ăb-skŏnd', SAMPA: /@b"skQnd/

  Rhymes: -ɒnd

to abscond (third-person singular simple present absconds, present participle absconding, simple past and past participle absconded)

1. (intransitive) To hide; to withdraw; to be concealed :
   • The rabbit absconds to avoid detection from predators
2. (intransitive) To depart secretly; to steal away, particularly to avoid arrest or prosecution :
   • That very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond. - Macaulay
3. (intransitive) To withdraw from, to leave from; to hide from :
   • She absconded the feast.
   • The captain absconded his responsibility.
4. (transitive) (obsolete) To hide [something], to conceal [something]; to take away [something] :
   • “They try to abscond his wages [...]” — National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Inc, 15 February 2005 news release [1].

Definition from Wiktionary Content avaible with GNU Free Documentation License

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