"absquatulate" means to leave quickly or in a hurry; to depart, flee. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
absquatulate
(intransitive, slang) To leave quickly or in a hurry; to depart, flee.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1830 · 2 years of recorded useSeen in the wild
I’m sad that I’ll probably never have a chance to use the verb absquatulate, which means to abscond.
Yet Scibona seems to be in pursuit of the perfect sentence rather than an engaging story: his characters do not give up smoking but "cigarettes forbade themselves"; no one simply absconds if they can "absquatulate".
Definitions
(intransitive, slang) To leave quickly or in a hurry; to depart, flee.
Why, I expect in a year or two to see coffins introduced into the parlors of the Fifth Avenue, and to find them, when their owners fail or absquatulate, advertised for sale at auction, with the rest of the household furniture, at a great…
"absquatulate" means to leave quickly or in a hurry; to depart, flee. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"absquatulate" is informal English meaning to leave quickly or in a hurry; to depart, flee. It is used widely across English varieties. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "to leave quickly or in a hurry" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "absquatulate" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.
“I’m sad that I’ll probably never have a chance to use the verb absquatulate, which means to abscond.”
“Yet Scibona seems to be in pursuit of the perfect sentence rather than an engaging story: his characters do not give up smoking but "cigarettes forbade themselves"; no one simply absconds if they can "absquatulate".”
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Semantically related
- squattle70%
(intransitive, Scotland) To squat or sprawl; to duck into concealment.
- duck out66%
(idiomatic, intransitive) To depart quickly or exit abruptly, especially in a manner which does not attract notice and before a meeting, event, etc. has concluded.
- duck out66%
(idiomatic, transitive) To depart quickly or exit abruptly by way of, especially in a manner which does not attract notice and before a meeting, event, etc. has concluded.
- squabash66%
(Scotland, slang, dated, transitive) To crush, quash or squash.
- ass out65%
(AAVE, slang) To hurry away.