Vamoose/verb/va·moose

Vamoose is a verb that means to leave in a hurry. English speakers use it to represent fleeing quickly or quietly escaping from a volatile situation. For example, someone running from justice is likely to "vamoose" when they see the police.

Another example of vamoose in action is an employee who vamooses from his job after his boss catches him stealing. Vamoose is slang that denotes departing suddenly and without explanation.

Etymology

The etymology of vamoose is unclear, but it likely comes from the Native American word for "wanderer." Historians say that English speakers adopted the term “vamoose” into our language to use as slang in the early 1800s. We still use vamoose today to describe people quickly fleeing uncomfortable situations.

In a Sentence

The girl was walking to the park to meet a friend and vamoosed when she saw the scary-looking dog running in her direction.

I was about to vamoose, but my friend asked me to stay and talk about our upcoming travel plans for the around-the-world cruise.

I vamoosed and called the police when I saw the burglar entering my neighbor's unlocked gate.

Synonyms

Depart, Leave

Antonyms

Remain, stay