abscond

/əbˈskɒnd/

//əbˈskɒnd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abscond" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abscond” is uncommon English (frequency #86,999 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,999
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To flee, often secretly; to steal away.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abscond · abscond · English

abscond · rank #86,999 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,999
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Abramowitz

Nearest frequency peer: Abramowitz (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “abscond”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “abscond” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for abscond
PropertyValue
Headwordabscond
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əbˈskɒnd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#86,999
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “abscond” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abscondfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Abramowitz” (#86,998), “Abhimanyu” (#86,996), “Adem” (#87,002). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abscond” is #86,999. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

abscond is uncommon English at frequency #86,999 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /əbˈskɒnd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for abscond in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Either borrowed from Middle French abscondre or directly from Latin abscondō (“hide”); formed from abs, ab (“away”) + condō (“put together, store”), from con- (“together”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, set”). * Cognate with sconce (“a type of light fixture”). The correct English form is abscond, spelled A-B-S-C-O-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To flee, often secretly; to steal away.
  2. 2
    To flee, often secretly; to steal away.
  3. 3
    To flee, often secretly; to steal away.
  4. 4
    To hide, to be in hiding or concealment.
  5. 5
    To evade, to hide or flee from.
  6. 6
    To conceal; to take away.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abscond appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The thieves absconded with our property.
  2. […] that very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond at the risk of stripes and of death.

Etymology

Either borrowed from Middle French abscondre or directly from Latin abscondō (“hide”); formed from abs, ab (“away”) + condō (“put together, store”), from con- (“together”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, set”). * Cognate with sconce (“a type of light fixture”).

This word in other languages

fugarse(Español)abscondre(Français)türmen(Deutsch)fugir(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abscond"?
"abscond" is spelled A-B-S-C-O-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /əbˈskɒnd/.
What does "abscond" mean?
As a verb, "abscond" means: To flee, often secretly; to steal away.
How do you pronounce "abscond"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abscond" is /əbˈskɒnd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abscond"?
Either borrowed from Middle French abscondre or directly from Latin abscondō (“hide”); formed from abs, ab (“away”) + condō (“put together, store”), from con- (“together”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, set”). * Cognate with sconce (“a type of light f... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abscond", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

alastor#87,010Wardlaw#86,934vermeil#86,918vandyke#86,911

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list