If someone in the Armed Forces goes AWOL, they leave their post without the permission of a superior officer. AWOL is an abbreviation for 'absent without leave'.
The troops went AWOL to express their complaints about the camp.
2. adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If you say that someone has gone AWOL, you mean that they have disappeared without telling anyone where they were going.
[informal]
Both actors went AWOL from filming in London this week.
AWOL in British English
(ˈeɪwɒl) or A.W.O.L.
adjective
military
absent without leave; absent from one's post or duty without official permission but without intending to desert
AWOL in American English
(ˈeɪˌwɔl), ˈaˌwol (ˈeɪˌwɔl)
US
adjective, adverb
1.
absent without leave
noun
2.
one who is AWOL
Examples of 'AWOL' in a sentence
AWOL
`And I've gone AWOL from the Beeb for twenty-four hours to break it to you!
Howatch, Susan ABSOLUTE TRUTHS (1993)
They're quite short-staffed on this ward, so I doubt if anyone will get round to thinking I've gone AWOL.
Pritchard, John NIGHT SISTERS (1993)
The flinger (or spit gun, or AWOL tube) was a linear accelerator.
Niven, Larry & Pournelle, Jerry THE MOAT AROUND MURCHESON'S EYE (1993)