to fail someone, to let someone down, to leave (someone behind), to desert someone, to abandon
[Dutch phrase of the week]

"Steek" literally translates to "sting" or "stab". "In de steek laten" however describes a situation when someone or something fails to help you in a critical situation, often fleeing the scene.

Examples:
– "Mijn auto laat me om de haverklap in de steek." 
("My car lets me down continually.")

– "Heeft Jan Yolanthe in de steek gelaten, of andersom?"  – "Lekker belangrijk…"
("Did Jan leave Yolanthe behind, or was it the other way around?" – "As if I care…")

– "Het voelt alsof ik door Frank in de steek ben gelaten." 
("It feels as if I’ve been let down by Frank.")

Expressions:
– "Met de noorderzon vertrekken": to leave without notice to an unknown destination.

Related words:
– Vlucht: flight, escape [noun] [de vlucht, de vluchten].
– Vluchten: to flee/to escape/to fly/to run (away) [verb] [vluchten, vluchtte, gevlucht].
– Ontvluchten: to flee/to escape (from) [verb] [ontvluchten, ontvluchtte, ontvlucht].
– Dumpen: to dump [verb] [dumpen, dumpte, gedumpt].
– Pech: breakdown, trouble [noun] [de pech, <no plural>].

Example:
– "Marc heeft pech met zijn auto: de lamp rechtsvoor doet het niet meer."
("Marc has trouble with his car: the headlight on the right has broken down.")