Definition

1. Verb:
   • To depart suddenly or secretly, especially to avoid capture or an obligation: This is the most common meaning, implying a hasty or furtive departure.
   • To break camp; to leave a campsite: The original, more literal meaning, used for people who have been camping.

Examples of Usage

• Verb (Depart suddenly):
  • When the police arrived, the suspects decamped without a trace.
  • The manager decamped with the company's emergency funds.
• Verb (Leave a camp):
  • The soldiers decamped at first light and continued their march.
  • We need to decamp before the storm hits.

Advanced Usage

• "to decamp to [a place]": to leave suddenly for a specific destination.
  • After the scandal, the celebrity decamped to a private island.
• Used in formal or journalistic contexts to describe a swift, often permanent, departure of a person or group.

Variants and Related Words

• Decampment (n): The act of decamping.
  • The sudden decampment of the entire staff left the office in chaos.

Synonyms

• Abscond: To leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to escape from custody or avoid arrest.
• Flee: To run away from a place or situation of danger.
• Bolt: To run away suddenly out of control.
• Make off: To hurry away, especially to escape.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Decamp" itself is not typically used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meaning is contained in the single word.)

Related Idioms

• To skip town: To leave a town suddenly, especially to avoid trouble.
  • Fearing his creditors, he decided to skip town. (This idiom is a synonym for the "depart suddenly" meaning of decamp.)

Verb

1. leave suddenly
   • She persuaded him to decamp
   • skip town
2. run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along
   • The thief made off with our silver
   • the accountant absconded with the cash from the safe
3. leave a camp
   • The hikers decamped before dawn