abandon

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /əˈbændən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: aban‧don

Verb

Plain form abandon

Third-person singular abandons

Past tense abandoned

Past participle abandoned

Present participle abandoning

1. (transitive) If you abandon something, you go away from it with no plan to return.

   Many teens abandon all chances of a successful future when they drop out of school.

   After much thought, they abandoned the idea as being too difficult.

   The government abandons after-school programs when money is tight.

2. (transitive) If you abandon something, you give up control of it.

   They danced wildly down the street, abandoning themselves to the night and the moon.

   The woodcutter and his wife considered abandoning Hansel and Gretel in the forest.

Related words

• abandonment
• abandoned

Noun

Singular abandon

Plural none

1. (uncountable) Abandon is a state where you do not control yourself.

   In these games, kids shoot and blow each other up with reckless abandon.

   The man dove into the pool with reckless abandon.

Related words

• disregard