scarper
verb/ˈskɑːpə(r)/
/ˈskɑːrpər/
[intransitive] (British English, informal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they scarper | /ˈskɑːpə(r)/ /ˈskɑːrpər/ |
| he / she / it scarpers | /ˈskɑːpəz/ /ˈskɑːrpərz/ |
| past simple scarpered | /ˈskɑːpəd/ /ˈskɑːrpərd/ |
| past participle scarpered | /ˈskɑːpəd/ /ˈskɑːrpərd/ |
| -ing form scarpering | /ˈskɑːpərɪŋ/ /ˈskɑːrpərɪŋ/ |
- to run away; to leave
- The police arrived, so we scarpered.
Word Originmid 19th cent.: probably from Italian scappare ‘to escape’, influenced by rhyming slang Scapa Flow ‘go’.
Check pronunciation:
scarper