skedaddle

verb

ske·​dad·​dle ski-ˈda-dᵊl 

skedaddled; skedaddling ski-ˈda-dᵊl-iŋ 

-ˈdad-liŋ

; skedaddles

intransitive verb

: to leave immediately : run away, scram

I've got to skedaddle or I'll be late.

Whenever there was work to be done, he skedaddled.

… of the five hundred and sixteen thousand immigrants who had come to Quebec since 1969 some three hundred and twelve thousand took a good look around and skedaddled.

—Mordecai Richler

… Vietnam, a country that has been virtually closed to foreigners since the last American helicopter skedaddled from the embassy rooftop in 1975.

—Stephen O'Shea

especially : to flee in a panic

Little gray lizards skedaddle from our path.

—Wells Tower

Though penguins can't outrun a lion, they can skedaddle on land if they really need to.

—Diane Ackerman

… they took their money and skedaddled as the housing market collapsed.

—Bill Saporito

skedaddler

ski-ˈda-dᵊl-ər 

-ˈdad-lər

noun

plural skedaddlers

… soldiers running from their units—and civilians running to avoid becoming part of one—were dubbed skedaddlers.

—John Boyko

Synonyms

• bolt
• break
• bug out
• flee
• fly
• hightail (it)
• retreat
• run
• run away
• run off

Examples of skedaddle in a Sentence

I've got to skedaddle or I'll be late.

we skedaddled as soon as we saw the snake entering our campsite

Recent Examples on the Web

Because Midler can do it all — sing, act, tell jokes and hoof pretty well, too, even imprisoned onstage in a mermaid costume — her career has been marked by a kind of Whac-a-Mole movement around the industry, flourishing in one genre only to skedaddle when her mood, or her opportunities, changed. —Andrew Goldman, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Aug. 2024

Oh, and maybe skedaddle indoors when a hot flash creeps on you. 2. —Katie Camero, SELF, 31 July 2024

Later, when the investor seeks payment from the bank after the fraud artist has skedaddled, the bank will tell the investor that the letter or whatever is a forgery and that they have been fleeced. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

But in most cases, stormers get to the court before the players have a chance to skedaddle. —Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2024

While white musicians skedaddled to the suburbs, Black jazz virtuosos sought solace in the neighborhoods where their racial identity was welcomed — ultimately congregating into two enclaves in the borough. —Mia Jackson, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2024

Nothing is worse than hearing them skedaddling across the kitchen floor at night. —Brittany Anas, House Beautiful, 22 Aug. 2023

As their old conference ticks its way toward a shriveled, uncertain future — schools skedaddling seemingly by the day — UCLA and USC have formally commenced the countdown toward a more assured fate. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Silva tells his son to skedaddle, but not before Jake shows up and tries to arrest him. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 17 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

probably alteration of British dialect scaddle to run off in a fright, from scaddle, adjective, wild, timid, skittish, from Middle English scathel, skadylle harmful, fierce, wild, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skathi harm — more at scathe

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above