A*ban"don*ment (-ment), n. [Cf. F. abandonnement.] 1. The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.

The abandonment of the independence of Europe.
Burke.

2. (Mar. 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.

3. (Com. Law) (a) The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege, as to mill site, etc. (b) The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband, or child; desertion.

4. Careless freedom or ease; abandon. [R.] Carlyle.

• The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.
       Quotations
       *The abandonment of the independence of Europe. - Burke.
  
• (Maritime 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.
  
• (Common Law): The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege, as to mill site, etc.
  
• (Common Law): The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband, or child; desertion.
       Example
       *"Well, since he left her, she's suing him for divorce on grounds of abandonment."
  
• the cessation of service on a particular segment of the lines of a common carrier by railroad.
  
• refusal to receive freight so damaged in transit as to be worthless and render carrier liable for its value.
  
• (Rare): Careless freedom or ease; abandon. - Thomas Carlyle