ABANDON | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

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Meaning of abandon in English abandonverb [ T ] uk /əˈbæn.dən/ us /əˈbæn.dən/

abandon verb [T] (LEAVE)

Add to word list Add to word list B2 to leave a place, thing, or person, usually for ever: We had to abandon the car. By the time the rebel troops arrived, the village had already been abandoned. As a baby he was abandoned by his mother.abandon ship We were sinking fast, and the captain gave the order to abandon ship.
  • If disturbed, the bird may abandon the nest, leaving the chicks to die.
  • It was his instinct for self-preservation that led him to abandon his former friends and transfer his allegiance to the new rulers.
  • According to an eyewitness account, the thieves abandoned their vehicle near the scene of the robbery and then ran off.
  • The police are trying to trace the mother of a newborn baby found abandoned outside a hospital.
  • The house had been abandoned for several years before they decided to demolish it.
Departing
  • abandon ship
  • abandon/jump ship idiom
  • abandonment
  • absquatulate
  • backward
  • dead
  • gone
  • make tracks idiom
  • move
  • not see someone for dust idiom
  • offski
  • outgoing
  • peel away/off phrasal verb
  • pull something off phrasal verb
  • spill
  • spill out phrasal verb
  • strike
  • strike out (somewhere) phrasal verb
  • take something off phrasal verb
  • turf something out phrasal verb
See more results »

abandon verb [T] (STOP)

C1 to stop doing an activity before you have finished it: The game was abandoned at half-time because of the poor weather conditions. They had to abandon their attempt to climb the mountain. The party has now abandoned its policy of unilateral disarmament. to cancel something
  • cancelSorry, I have to cancel our plans tonight.
  • call offThe game has been called off because of the weather.
  • offThe meeting's off because James is ill.
  • scrapWe've scrapped our plans for a trip to France.
  • suspendThe ferry service has been suspended for the day because of bad weather.
  • postponeWe've postponed the wedding until next year.
See more results »
  • Sweden isn't likely ever to abandon its traditional neutrality.
  • Pressure to abandon the new motorway is increasing.
  • We were unable to get funding and therefore had to abandon the project.
  • A lot of farming techniques have been abandoned because they were too labour-intensive.
  • Most European countries have abandoned laws that make vagrancy a crime.
Causing something to end
  • abandonment
  • all good things (must) come to an end idiom
  • and have done with it idiom
  • be over the hump idiom
  • bitter
  • brake
  • cure
  • freeze
  • get something over with phrasal verb
  • give over phrasal verb
  • grind to a halt idiom
  • halt
  • hang
  • lid
  • snap
  • snap out of something phrasal verb
  • snuff something out phrasal verb
  • stamp on something phrasal verb
  • stamp something out phrasal verb
  • stanch
See more results » abandon yourself to something to allow yourself to be controlled completely by a feeling or way of living: He abandoned himself to his emotions. See more

Related words

abandoned abandonment abandonnoun   literary uk /əˈbæn.dən/ us /əˈbæn.dən/ with (gay/wild) abandon in a completely uncontrolled way: We danced with wild abandon. See more (Definition of abandon from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

abandon | American Dictionary

abandonverb [ T ] us /əˈbæn·dən/ Add to word list Add to word list to leave behind or run away from someone or something, or to give up something: Air attacks forced the villagers to abandon their homes. The weather was so bad, we abandoned our plans for a picnic.

abandonment

noun [ U ] us /əˈbæn·dən·mənt/ Archeologists don’t know what could have caused a mass abandonment of the area. (Definition of abandon from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

abandon | Business English

abandonverb [ T ] uk /əˈbændən/ us Add to word list Add to word list to stop an activity before it is finished, usually because you think you cannot succeed: abandon a project/plan/an idea The car maker has abandoned its plans to build a giant new plant.abandon a lawsuit/case/claim The high cost of legal representation can influence a person's decision about whether to abandon a claim. to leave a person, place, or thing that needs you to care for them: He kept the company going because he didn't want to abandon his staff. A vehicle had been abandoned on the side of the road. INSURANCE to allow an insurance company to keep property that has been lost or damaged, in exchange for an insurance payment

abandonment

noun [ U ] High winds forced the abandonment of efforts to erect the structure. (Definition of abandon from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of abandon

abandon However, they soon were forced to abandon these plans after running into a powerful barrage of criticism. From the Cambridge English Corpus However, this does not warrant totally abandoning the notion of separate senses, particularly in light of evidence of limits in cross-modal representations. From the Cambridge English Corpus They lost virtually all their cattle and were left with the choice of abandoning the lobola system or finding a new lobola currency. From the Cambridge English Corpus However, surgery directed to the treatment of the failing systemic ventricle should be abandoned in favor of heart transplantation. From the Cambridge English Corpus Reasons for abandoning the trial included sickness of the farmer and the desire to grow crops other than maize at the experimental site. From the Cambridge English Corpus The efforts were soon abandoned for a watered-down version of no beef-eating and less drinking. From the Cambridge English Corpus This project engaged some attention, but it was soon felt to be impracticable, and the thought was consequently abandoned. From the Cambridge English Corpus But as soon as costs and benefits are assigned to separate persons, maximisation should be abandoned. From the Cambridge English Corpus Relating transformation to abandonment is somewhat more difficult, but in a sense the village, already partially abandoned, was transformed into ruins. From the Cambridge English Corpus The tendency to focus exclusively or predominantly on the role of economic factors in processes of political change ought to be rethought and perhaps abandoned. From the Cambridge English Corpus The behavioural details that dominated in the earlier production are now abandoned in favour of psychological states and their nuances. From the Cambridge English Corpus Rather, she has not begun, or has abandoned, a parental project. From the Cambridge English Corpus Projects begun in southern universities on revolutionary republicanism in the 1960s and 1970s were, in some instances, delayed for decades or abandoned altogether. From the Cambridge English Corpus The last explosion fires, very far away, have abandoned their long reverberations and are exhausted as they trail away. From the Cambridge English Corpus These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of abandon?

Translations of abandon

in Chinese (Traditional) 丟棄, 離棄, 放棄… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 丢弃, 离弃, 放弃… See more in Spanish abandonar, renunciar a, desistir de… See more in Portuguese abandonar, desertar, deixar… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian सोडून देणे, टाकून देणे, त्यागणे… See more ～を置き去りにする, 捨てる, ～を途中でやめる… See more birşeyi, birini geri dönmemek koşuluyla bırakmak, terketmek… See more abandonner, délaisser, interrompre… See more abandonar, renunciar a… See more verlaten, afgelasten, zich overgeven… See more ஒரு இடம், பொருள் அல்லது நபரை விட்டு வெளியேறுவது, பொதுவாக நிரந்தரமாக (என்றென்றும்)… See more (स्थान, वस्तु, या व्यक्ति को सदा के लिए) छोड़ देना… See more છોડી દીધું, છોડી દો (સ્થાન, વસ્તુ અથવા વ્યક્તિ કાયમ માટે)… See more efterlade, opgive, hengive… See more överge, överges, överlämna (hänge) sig åt… See more meninggalkan, menghentikan, membiarkan… See more zurücklassen, abbrechen, sich hingeben… See more forlate, oppgi, gå fra… See more ترک کرنا, چھوڑ دینا, کنارہ کش ہونا… See more кидати, залишати, скасовувати… See more పరిత్యజించు, విడిచిపెట్టు, సాధారణంగా ఒక ప్రదేశాన్ని… See more পরিত্যাগ করা, কোনো একটি স্থান, জিনিস বা ব্যক্তি সাধারণত চিরকালের জন্য ছেড়ে যাওয়া… See more opustit, zanechat, přerušit… See more meninggalkan, menghentikan, menyerah… See more ทิ้ง, ยกเลิกหรือเลิกทำ เนื่องจากมีปัญหาเกิดขึ้น, ปล่อยให้ (ตัวเองหรือบางสิ่ง) จมอยู่กับ… See more từ bỏ, hủy, buông thả… See more porzucać, zaniechać, zarzucać… See more 버리다, 그만두다, 단념하다… See more abbandonare, rinunciare a, interrompere… See more Need a translator?

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abacterial abacus abaft abalone abandon abandon ship abandon yourself to something phrase abandon/jump ship idiom abandoned {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of abandon

  • abandon ship
  • abandon yourself to something phrase
  • abandon/jump ship idiom
  • with (gay/wild) abandon phrase
  • abandon/jump ship
  • abandon someone/something for dead, at leave someone/something for dead idiom
See all meanings
  • abandon yourself to something phrase
  • abandon/jump ship idiom
  • with (gay/wild) abandon phrase
  • abandon someone/something for dead, at leave someone/something for dead idiom
See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

pollen

UK /ˈpɒl.ən/ US /ˈpɑː.lən/

a powder, produced by the male part of a flower, that causes the female part of the same type of flower to produce seeds. It is carried by insects or the wind.

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  • English   
    • Verb 
      • abandon (LEAVE)
      • abandon (STOP)
      • abandon yourself to something
    • Noun 
      • with (gay/wild) abandon
  • American   
    • Verb 
      • abandon
    • Noun 
      • abandonment
  • Business   
    • Verb 
      • abandon
    • Noun 
      • abandonment
  • Examples
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