decamp
/di'kæmp/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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
- leave suddenly
- She persuaded him to decamp
- skip town
- 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
- leave a camp
- The hikers decamped before dawn