defect
Several hundred of the country's soldiers have defected to paramilitary groups.
They had identified a cultural attaché who was thinking of defecting to South Korea.
The company was dismayed when their lead developer defected to their main competitor.
He claimed that cable viewers were defecting to satellite because it tends to be cheaper.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases Running away and escaping
abscond
abscond from somewhere
abscond with someone/something
back away
back off
bail out
elude
escape from someone/something
escape route
escapology
extrication
leg
loose
runaway
scarce
scarper
scram
shake something off
throw
underground
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Organizations - joining & leaving