What does "AWOL" mean? And its origin?

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What does "AWOL" mean? And its origin?

AWOL is shorthand for Absent Without Official Leave. It gets its origin from the military.


This essentially means that you are absent without permission. In the military, it is the protocol to ask your superior officer to leave the military base or be absent for any reason. If you do this, they do not know where you are and you would be considered AWOL.

What does it mean in daily life or conversation?

While the official meaning of AWOL is absent without official leave, it is common parlance to say someone is AWOL if you don't know where the person is.


How do I use AWOL in a sentence?

Let's look at a couple examples of how to use AWOL in a sentence.
First, pretend that you are an employer and your employee named Ashley didn't show up to work and didn't let anyone know she would be absent. You could say: " Ashley is AWOL from work today."

Or, maybe you are in a group and looking for an individual named Bob. You may ask "Where is Bob?" and someone may reply " He has been AWOL for 3 hours." This means he left 3 hours ago without letting anyone know where he was going.

"AWOL" is a military shorthand for absent without official leave, adopted by the English language.

Simply put, it means that someone is absent, and no one knows why or where they are.

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Meaning of "AWOL" and its origin


You are awol if you miss work without permission.


Your mother could say she's taking the rest of the week off by being awol from work and that you can find her in the garden relaxing in the hammock.

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The term is an acronym of the military phrase "absent without leave" and is often written in capital letters: AWOL.


The origin of the term is unclear but it gained popularity in the US military around World War II and spread among the general public in the 1960s.


Example:


"The soldier was declared AWOL after he failed to return to his base after a weekend leave."


In the above sentence, the soldier has left his post without obtaining permission to do so, and therefore he is considered to be "Absent WithOut Leave". This means that he is in violation of military regulations and could face disciplinary action.

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Missing


AWOL

It is an acronym for, absent without leave, in other words missing from a duty without permission or notice.

It originated in the United States military during World War one for soldiers that would leave or go missing without informing their superiors


Running away or leaving the army without permission, not showing up for work without notifying your boss.


Use in today's speech


Although originating and still used in the military, it is also used in slang today, meaning that someone is missing from an event without notifying others

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Awol - Absence without leave


What is the meaning of AWOL?

AWOL means absent without leave. You hear this expression often in the army when a soldier leaves the basis without permission


Did the soldier AWOL?

Yes, he left without leave to visit his girlfriend.


Absent without leave - AWOL

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an acronym

Used in slang and informal conversations.


It as an acronym for ABSENCE WITHOUT LEAVE


Commonly used in job related ideas for example:

She's gone awol for two months.


She haven't sent us a prior notice of her absences, she's considered AWOL.

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What is AWOL?


Absent Without Leave

The acronym of AWOL is Absent Without Leave


This is used specially on military or armed forces when somebody has left their group or work without permission.

AWOL in a sentence:


He's gone AWOL from his base.

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2022/12/03

Awol, in military terms, means absent without official leave but without intent to desert. It can also mean absent from where one should be, missing.


How do you use it in a sentence?

After visiting my high school, it looked like the office staff had been AWOL for a while.

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