Definition of "abandonment" in English

noun

1. The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.

2. The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband or child; desertion.

   • Since he left her, she's suing him for divorce on grounds of abandonment.

3. An abandoned building or structure.

   • High-profile abandonments are harder to infiltrate for urban explorers due to their heightened security.

4. (law) The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege; relinquishment of right to secure a patent by an inventor; relinquishment of copyright by an author.

5. (law) The relinquishment by the insured to the underwriters of what may remain of the property insured after a loss or damage by a peril insured against.

6. The cessation of service on a particular segment of the lines of a common carrier, as granted by a government agency.

7. A refusal to receive freight so damaged in transit as to be worthless and render carrier liable for its value.

8. The self-surrender to an outside influence.

9. Abandon; careless freedom or ease; surrender to one's emotions.