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.

Pronunciation: / əb'skɑnd /
English Description: run off without paying a debt
Chinese Translation: 潜逃(qian2 tao2)
Spanish Translation: huir
STORY: Abscond is generally used to describe someone running from law or capture, and the word abscond has been in use since the early sixteenth 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.

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

He had absconded from the Metropolitan Police after being charged with drugs offences.
A public social security hospital left unbuilt when contractors absconded with their hefty advance.

*New word description, story and part of "EXAMPLE SENTENCE" are cited in Vocabulary.com