diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index a960d3afc5d88..225811d14a5a8 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -477,6 +477,13 @@ This section lists changes that do not have deprecation warnings.
     match `café` (not just `caf`). Add the `a` modifier (e.g. `r"\w+"a`) to
     restore the previous behavior ([#27189]).
 
+  * `@sync` now waits only for *lexically* enclosed (i.e. visible directly in the source
+    text of its argument) `@async` expressions. If you need to wait for a task created by
+    a called function `f`, have `f` return the task and put `@async wait(f(...))` within
+    the `@sync` block.
+    This change makes `@schedule` redundant with `@async`, so `@schedule` has been
+    deprecated ([#27164]).
+
 Library improvements
 --------------------
 
diff --git a/base/asyncmap.jl b/base/asyncmap.jl
index 2456007066033..b3467bd0dca1f 100644
--- a/base/asyncmap.jl
+++ b/base/asyncmap.jl
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ function setup_chnl_and_tasks(exec_func, ntasks, batch_size=nothing)
 end
 
 function start_worker_task!(worker_tasks, exec_func, chnl, batch_size=nothing)
-    t = @schedule begin
+    t = @async begin
         retval = nothing
 
         try
diff --git a/base/channels.jl b/base/channels.jl
index 82854160fea5b..2cc6cbed4eed2 100644
--- a/base/channels.jl
+++ b/base/channels.jl
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ termination of the task will close all of the bound channels.
 ```jldoctest
 julia> c = Channel(0);
 
-julia> task = @schedule foreach(i->put!(c, i), 1:4);
+julia> task = @async foreach(i->put!(c, i), 1:4);
 
 julia> bind(c,task);
 
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ false
 ```jldoctest
 julia> c = Channel(0);
 
-julia> task = @schedule (put!(c,1);error("foo"));
+julia> task = @async (put!(c,1);error("foo"));
 
 julia> bind(c,task);
 
diff --git a/base/deprecated.jl b/base/deprecated.jl
index b8a04966511ca..9ace5698e5d1a 100644
--- a/base/deprecated.jl
+++ b/base/deprecated.jl
@@ -1670,6 +1670,8 @@ end
 # in src/jlfrontend.scm a call to `@deprecate` is generated for per-module `eval(m, x)`
 @eval Core Main.Base.@deprecate(eval(e), Core.eval(Main, e))
 
+@eval @deprecate $(Symbol("@schedule")) $(Symbol("@async"))
+
 # END 0.7 deprecations
 
 # BEGIN 1.0 deprecations
diff --git a/base/event.jl b/base/event.jl
index 5705ff5b1884a..0a3122573807b 100644
--- a/base/event.jl
+++ b/base/event.jl
@@ -80,19 +80,6 @@ notify_error(c::Condition, err) = notify(c, err, true, true)
 
 n_waiters(c::Condition) = length(c.waitq)
 
-# schedule an expression to run asynchronously, with minimal ceremony
-"""
-    @schedule
-
-Wrap an expression in a [`Task`](@ref) and add it to the local machine's scheduler queue.
-Similar to [`@async`](@ref) except that an enclosing `@sync` does NOT wait for tasks
-started with an `@schedule`.
-"""
-macro schedule(expr)
-    thunk = esc(:(()->($expr)))
-    :(enq_work(Task($thunk)))
-end
-
 ## scheduler and work queue
 
 global const Workqueue = Task[]
diff --git a/base/exports.jl b/base/exports.jl
index 9f4b86b73b77f..ec29cf58bc9ec 100644
--- a/base/exports.jl
+++ b/base/exports.jl
@@ -972,7 +972,6 @@ export
     @allocated,
 
     # tasks
-    @schedule,
     @sync,
     @async,
     @task,
diff --git a/base/task.jl b/base/task.jl
index 735b78f3f074f..d93cdbd2c84c4 100644
--- a/base/task.jl
+++ b/base/task.jl
@@ -198,6 +198,72 @@ function fetch(t::Task)
     task_result(t)
 end
 
+
+## lexically-scoped waiting for multiple items
+
+function sync_end(refs)
+    c_ex = CompositeException()
+    for r in refs
+        try
+            _wait(r)
+        catch ex
+            if !isa(r, Task) || (isa(r, Task) && !istaskfailed(r))
+                rethrow(ex)
+            end
+        finally
+            if isa(r, Task) && istaskfailed(r)
+                push!(c_ex, CapturedException(task_result(r), r.backtrace))
+            end
+        end
+    end
+
+    if !isempty(c_ex)
+        throw(c_ex)
+    end
+    nothing
+end
+
+const sync_varname = gensym(:sync)
+
+"""
+    @sync
+
+Wait until all lexically-enclosed uses of `@async`, `@spawn`, `@spawnat` and `@distributed`
+are complete. All exceptions thrown by enclosed async operations are collected and thrown as
+a `CompositeException`.
+"""
+macro sync(block)
+    var = esc(sync_varname)
+    quote
+        let $var = Any[]
+            v = $(esc(block))
+            sync_end($var)
+            v
+        end
+    end
+end
+
+# schedule an expression to run asynchronously
+
+"""
+    @async
+
+Wrap an expression in a [`Task`](@ref) and add it to the local machine's scheduler queue.
+"""
+macro async(expr)
+    thunk = esc(:(()->($expr)))
+    var = esc(sync_varname)
+    quote
+        local task = Task($thunk)
+        if $(Expr(:isdefined, var))
+            push!($var, task)
+            get_task_tls(task)[:SUPPRESS_EXCEPTION_PRINTING] = true
+        end
+        schedule(task)
+    end
+end
+
+
 suppress_excp_printing(t::Task) = isa(t.storage, IdDict) ? get(get_task_tls(t), :SUPPRESS_EXCEPTION_PRINTING, false) : false
 
 function register_taskdone_hook(t::Task, hook)
@@ -237,7 +303,7 @@ function task_done_hook(t::Task)
         if !suppress_excp_printing(t)
             let bt = t.backtrace
                 # run a new task to print the error for us
-                @schedule with_output_color(Base.error_color(), stderr) do io
+                @async with_output_color(Base.error_color(), stderr) do io
                     print(io, "ERROR (unhandled task failure): ")
                     showerror(io, result, bt)
                     println(io)
@@ -263,87 +329,6 @@ function task_done_hook(t::Task)
     end
 end
 
-
-## dynamically-scoped waiting for multiple items
-sync_begin() = task_local_storage(:SPAWNS, ([], get(task_local_storage(), :SPAWNS, ())))
-
-function sync_end()
-    spawns = get(task_local_storage(), :SPAWNS, ())
-    if spawns === ()
-        error("sync_end() without sync_begin()")
-    end
-    refs = spawns[1]
-    task_local_storage(:SPAWNS, spawns[2])
-
-    c_ex = CompositeException()
-    for r in refs
-        try
-            _wait(r)
-        catch ex
-            if !isa(r, Task) || (isa(r, Task) && !istaskfailed(r))
-                rethrow(ex)
-            end
-        finally
-            if isa(r, Task) && istaskfailed(r)
-                push!(c_ex, CapturedException(task_result(r), r.backtrace))
-            end
-        end
-    end
-
-    if !isempty(c_ex)
-        throw(c_ex)
-    end
-    nothing
-end
-
-"""
-    @sync
-
-Wait until all dynamically-enclosed uses of `@async`, `@spawn`, `@spawnat` and `@parallel`
-are complete. All exceptions thrown by enclosed async operations are collected and thrown as
-a `CompositeException`.
-"""
-macro sync(block)
-    quote
-        sync_begin()
-        v = $(esc(block))
-        sync_end()
-        v
-    end
-end
-
-function sync_add(r)
-    spawns = get(task_local_storage(), :SPAWNS, ())
-    if spawns !== ()
-        push!(spawns[1], r)
-        if isa(r, Task)
-            tls_r = get_task_tls(r)
-            tls_r[:SUPPRESS_EXCEPTION_PRINTING] = true
-        end
-    end
-    r
-end
-
-function async_run_thunk(thunk)
-    t = Task(thunk)
-    sync_add(t)
-    enq_work(t)
-    t
-end
-
-"""
-    @async
-
-Like `@schedule`, `@async` wraps an expression in a `Task` and adds it to the local
-machine's scheduler queue. Additionally it adds the task to the set of items that the
-nearest enclosing `@sync` waits for.
-"""
-macro async(expr)
-    thunk = esc(:(()->($expr)))
-    :(async_run_thunk($thunk))
-end
-
-
 """
     timedwait(testcb::Function, secs::Float64; pollint::Float64=0.1)
 
diff --git a/doc/src/base/parallel.md b/doc/src/base/parallel.md
index 8f850dda33212..cd689e15dfd33 100644
--- a/doc/src/base/parallel.md
+++ b/doc/src/base/parallel.md
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ Base.task_local_storage(::Function, ::Any, ::Any)
 Base.Condition
 Base.notify
 Base.schedule
-Base.@schedule
 Base.@task
 Base.sleep
 Base.Channel
diff --git a/doc/src/manual/control-flow.md b/doc/src/manual/control-flow.md
index 1da1ecdd522b5..47cb4a99383a0 100644
--- a/doc/src/manual/control-flow.md
+++ b/doc/src/manual/control-flow.md
@@ -980,8 +980,8 @@ A task created explicitly by calling [`Task`](@ref) is initially not known to th
 allows you to manage tasks manually using [`yieldto`](@ref) if you wish. However, when such
 a task waits for an event, it still gets restarted automatically when the event happens, as you
 would expect. It is also possible to make the scheduler run a task whenever it can, without necessarily
-waiting for any events. This is done by calling [`schedule`](@ref), or using the [`@schedule`](@ref)
-or [`@async`](@ref) macros (see [Parallel Computing](@ref) for more details).
+waiting for any events. This is done by calling [`schedule`](@ref), or using the [`@async`](@ref)
+macro (see [Parallel Computing](@ref) for more details).
 
 ### Task states
 
diff --git a/doc/src/manual/parallel-computing.md b/doc/src/manual/parallel-computing.md
index 76bb41af49448..82cb49805c52d 100644
--- a/doc/src/manual/parallel-computing.md
+++ b/doc/src/manual/parallel-computing.md
@@ -565,7 +565,7 @@ A channel can be visualized as a pipe, i.e., it has a write end and read end.
 
     # we can schedule `n` instances of `foo` to be active concurrently.
     for _ in 1:n
-        @schedule foo()
+        @async foo()
     end
     ```
   * Channels are created via the `Channel{T}(sz)` constructor. The channel will only hold objects
@@ -672,10 +672,10 @@ julia> function make_jobs(n)
 
 julia> n = 12;
 
-julia> @schedule make_jobs(n); # feed the jobs channel with "n" jobs
+julia> @async make_jobs(n); # feed the jobs channel with "n" jobs
 
 julia> for i in 1:4 # start 4 tasks to process requests in parallel
-           @schedule do_work()
+           @async do_work()
        end
 
 julia> @elapsed while n > 0 # print out results
@@ -780,7 +780,7 @@ julia> function make_jobs(n)
 
 julia> n = 12;
 
-julia> @schedule make_jobs(n); # feed the jobs channel with "n" jobs
+julia> @async make_jobs(n); # feed the jobs channel with "n" jobs
 
 julia> for p in workers() # start tasks on the workers to process requests in parallel
            remote_do(do_work, p, jobs, results)
diff --git a/stdlib/Distributed/src/Distributed.jl b/stdlib/Distributed/src/Distributed.jl
index 8e618083e3419..20128135f2f11 100644
--- a/stdlib/Distributed/src/Distributed.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Distributed/src/Distributed.jl
@@ -13,9 +13,8 @@ import Base: getindex, wait, put!, take!, fetch, isready, push!, length,
 
 # imports for use
 using Base: Process, Semaphore, JLOptions, AnyDict, buffer_writes, wait_connected,
-            VERSION_STRING, sync_begin, sync_add, sync_end, async_run_thunk,
-            binding_module, notify_error, atexit, julia_exename, julia_cmd,
-            AsyncGenerator, acquire, release, invokelatest,
+            VERSION_STRING, binding_module, notify_error, atexit, julia_exename,
+            julia_cmd, AsyncGenerator, acquire, release, invokelatest,
             shell_escape_posixly, uv_error, coalesce, notnothing
 
 using Serialization, Sockets
diff --git a/stdlib/Distributed/src/cluster.jl b/stdlib/Distributed/src/cluster.jl
index 110a6e02f4827..ad6a660110ce1 100644
--- a/stdlib/Distributed/src/cluster.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Distributed/src/cluster.jl
@@ -115,10 +115,10 @@ function check_worker_state(w::Worker)
         else
             w.ct_time = time()
             if myid() > w.id
-                @schedule exec_conn_func(w)
+                @async exec_conn_func(w)
             else
                 # route request via node 1
-                @schedule remotecall_fetch((p,to_id) -> remotecall_fetch(exec_conn_func, p, to_id), 1, w.id, myid())
+                @async remotecall_fetch((p,to_id) -> remotecall_fetch(exec_conn_func, p, to_id), 1, w.id, myid())
             end
             wait_for_conn(w)
         end
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ function wait_for_conn(w)
         timeout =  worker_timeout() - (time() - w.ct_time)
         timeout <= 0 && error("peer $(w.id) has not connected to $(myid())")
 
-        @schedule (sleep(timeout); notify(w.c_state; all=true))
+        @async (sleep(timeout); notify(w.c_state; all=true))
         wait(w.c_state)
         w.state == W_CREATED && error("peer $(w.id) didn't connect to $(myid()) within $timeout seconds")
     end
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ function start_worker(out::IO, cookie::AbstractString=readline(stdin))
     else
         sock = listen(interface, LPROC.bind_port)
     end
-    @schedule while isopen(sock)
+    @async while isopen(sock)
         client = accept(sock)
         process_messages(client, client, true)
     end
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ end
 
 
 function redirect_worker_output(ident, stream)
-    @schedule while !eof(stream)
+    @async while !eof(stream)
         line = readline(stream)
         if startswith(line, "      From worker ")
             # stdout's of "additional" workers started from an initial worker on a host are not available
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ function read_worker_host_port(io::IO)
     leader = String[]
     try
         while ntries > 0
-            readtask = @schedule readline(io)
+            readtask = @async readline(io)
             yield()
             while !istaskdone(readtask) && ((time() - t0) < timeout)
                 sleep(0.05)
@@ -396,13 +396,13 @@ function addprocs_locked(manager::ClusterManager; kwargs...)
     # call manager's `launch` is a separate task. This allows the master
     # process initiate the connection setup process as and when workers come
     # online
-    t_launch = @schedule launch(manager, params, launched, launch_ntfy)
+    t_launch = @async launch(manager, params, launched, launch_ntfy)
 
     @sync begin
         while true
             if isempty(launched)
                 istaskdone(t_launch) && break
-                @schedule (sleep(1); notify(launch_ntfy))
+                @async (sleep(1); notify(launch_ntfy))
                 wait(launch_ntfy)
             end
 
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ function create_worker(manager, wconfig)
     join_message = JoinPGRPMsg(w.id, all_locs, PGRP.topology, enable_threaded_blas, isclusterlazy())
     send_msg_now(w, MsgHeader(RRID(0,0), ntfy_oid), join_message)
 
-    @schedule manage(w.manager, w.id, w.config, :register)
+    @async manage(w.manager, w.id, w.config, :register)
     wait(rr_ntfy_join)
     lock(client_refs) do
         delete!(PGRP.refs, ntfy_oid)
@@ -621,7 +621,7 @@ function check_master_connect()
     if ccall(:jl_running_on_valgrind,Cint,()) != 0
         return
     end
-    @schedule begin
+    @async begin
         start = time()
         while !haskey(map_pid_wrkr, 1) && (time() - start) < timeout
             sleep(1.0)
@@ -844,13 +844,13 @@ function rmprocs(pids...; waitfor=typemax(Int))
 
     pids = vcat(pids...)
     if waitfor == 0
-        t = @schedule _rmprocs(pids, typemax(Int))
+        t = @async _rmprocs(pids, typemax(Int))
         yield()
         return t
     else
         _rmprocs(pids, waitfor)
         # return a dummy task object that user code can wait on.
-        return @schedule nothing
+        return @async nothing
     end
 end
 
diff --git a/stdlib/Distributed/src/macros.jl b/stdlib/Distributed/src/macros.jl
index 6443700cc8cd6..f04ad345f10bc 100644
--- a/stdlib/Distributed/src/macros.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Distributed/src/macros.jl
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ let nextidx = 0
     end
 end
 
-spawnat(p, thunk) = sync_add(remotecall(thunk, p))
+spawnat(p, thunk) = remotecall(thunk, p)
 
 spawn_somewhere(thunk) = spawnat(nextproc(),thunk)
 
@@ -41,7 +41,14 @@ julia> fetch(f)
 """
 macro spawn(expr)
     thunk = esc(:(()->($expr)))
-    :(spawn_somewhere($thunk))
+    var = esc(Base.sync_varname)
+    quote
+        local ref = spawn_somewhere($thunk)
+        if $(Expr(:isdefined, var))
+            push!($var, ref)
+        end
+        ref
+    end
 end
 
 """
@@ -64,7 +71,14 @@ julia> fetch(f)
 """
 macro spawnat(p, expr)
     thunk = esc(:(()->($expr)))
-    :(spawnat($(esc(p)), $thunk))
+    var = esc(Base.sync_varname)
+    quote
+        local ref = spawnat($(esc(p)), $thunk)
+        if $(Expr(:isdefined, var))
+            push!($var, ref)
+        end
+        ref
+    end
 end
 
 """
@@ -250,7 +264,9 @@ function preduce(reducer, f, R)
 end
 
 function pfor(f, R)
-    [@spawn f(R, first(c), last(c)) for c in splitrange(length(R), nworkers())]
+    @async @sync for c in splitrange(length(R), nworkers())
+        @spawn f(R, first(c), last(c))
+    end
 end
 
 function make_preduce_body(var, body)
@@ -316,9 +332,15 @@ macro distributed(args...)
     r = loop.args[1].args[2]
     body = loop.args[2]
     if na==1
-        thecall = :(pfor($(make_pfor_body(var, body)), $(esc(r))))
+        syncvar = esc(Base.sync_varname)
+        return quote
+            local ref = pfor($(make_pfor_body(var, body)), $(esc(r)))
+            if $(Expr(:isdefined, syncvar))
+                push!($syncvar, ref)
+            end
+            ref
+        end
     else
-        thecall = :(preduce($(esc(reducer)), $(make_preduce_body(var, body)), $(esc(r))))
+        return :(preduce($(esc(reducer)), $(make_preduce_body(var, body)), $(esc(r))))
     end
-    thecall
 end
diff --git a/stdlib/Distributed/src/managers.jl b/stdlib/Distributed/src/managers.jl
index 7e1235a5c83b2..7f50c280c380e 100644
--- a/stdlib/Distributed/src/managers.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Distributed/src/managers.jl
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ function launch(manager::SSHManager, params::Dict, launched::Array, launch_ntfy:
 
     for (i,(machine, cnt)) in enumerate(manager.machines)
         let machine=machine, cnt=cnt
-            launch_tasks[i] = @schedule try
+            launch_tasks[i] = @async try
                     launch_on_machine(manager, machine, cnt, params, launched, launch_ntfy)
                 catch e
                     print(stderr, "exception launching on machine $(machine) : $(e)\n")
diff --git a/stdlib/Distributed/src/messages.jl b/stdlib/Distributed/src/messages.jl
index 48dccebce55a0..852624f91e21c 100644
--- a/stdlib/Distributed/src/messages.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Distributed/src/messages.jl
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ function flush_gc_msgs()
         end
     catch e
         bt = catch_backtrace()
-        @schedule showerror(stderr, e, bt)
+        @async showerror(stderr, e, bt)
     end
 end
 
diff --git a/stdlib/Distributed/src/precompile.jl b/stdlib/Distributed/src/precompile.jl
index 2842b8991803c..f2c2f0420422a 100644
--- a/stdlib/Distributed/src/precompile.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Distributed/src/precompile.jl
@@ -209,5 +209,4 @@ precompile(Tuple{typeof(Distributed.test_existing_ref), Distributed.Future})
 precompile(Tuple{typeof(Base.finalizer), Distributed.Future, typeof(Distributed.finalize_ref)})
 precompile(Tuple{typeof(Base.hash), Distributed.Future, UInt64})
 precompile(Tuple{typeof(Base.ht_keyindex), Base.Dict{WeakRef, Nothing}, Distributed.Future})
-precompile(Tuple{typeof(Base.sync_add), Distributed.Future})
 precompile(Tuple{Type{Union{}}, Distributed.RRID})
diff --git a/stdlib/Distributed/src/process_messages.jl b/stdlib/Distributed/src/process_messages.jl
index 079646d89ff8d..5d0bf6308f9c1 100644
--- a/stdlib/Distributed/src/process_messages.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Distributed/src/process_messages.jl
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ function schedule_call(rid, thunk)
         rv = RemoteValue(def_rv_channel())
         (PGRP::ProcessGroup).refs[rid] = rv
         push!(rv.clientset, rid.whence)
-        @schedule run_work_thunk(rv, thunk)
+        @async run_work_thunk(rv, thunk)
         return rv
     end
 end
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ end
 
 ## message event handlers ##
 function process_messages(r_stream::TCPSocket, w_stream::TCPSocket, incoming::Bool=true)
-    @schedule process_tcp_streams(r_stream, w_stream, incoming)
+    @async process_tcp_streams(r_stream, w_stream, incoming)
 end
 
 function process_tcp_streams(r_stream::TCPSocket, w_stream::TCPSocket, incoming::Bool)
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ Julia version number to perform the authentication handshake.
 See also [`cluster_cookie`](@ref).
 """
 function process_messages(r_stream::IO, w_stream::IO, incoming::Bool=true)
-    @schedule message_handler_loop(r_stream, w_stream, incoming)
+    @async message_handler_loop(r_stream, w_stream, incoming)
 end
 
 function message_handler_loop(r_stream::IO, w_stream::IO, incoming::Bool)
@@ -265,21 +265,21 @@ function handle_msg(msg::CallMsg{:call}, header, r_stream, w_stream, version)
     schedule_call(header.response_oid, ()->msg.f(msg.args...; msg.kwargs...))
 end
 function handle_msg(msg::CallMsg{:call_fetch}, header, r_stream, w_stream, version)
-    @schedule begin
+    @async begin
         v = run_work_thunk(()->msg.f(msg.args...; msg.kwargs...), false)
         deliver_result(w_stream, :call_fetch, header.notify_oid, v)
     end
 end
 
 function handle_msg(msg::CallWaitMsg, header, r_stream, w_stream, version)
-    @schedule begin
+    @async begin
         rv = schedule_call(header.response_oid, ()->msg.f(msg.args...; msg.kwargs...))
         deliver_result(w_stream, :call_wait, header.notify_oid, fetch(rv.c))
     end
 end
 
 function handle_msg(msg::RemoteDoMsg, header, r_stream, w_stream, version)
-    @schedule run_work_thunk(()->msg.f(msg.args...; msg.kwargs...), true)
+    @async run_work_thunk(()->msg.f(msg.args...; msg.kwargs...), true)
 end
 
 function handle_msg(msg::ResultMsg, header, r_stream, w_stream, version)
diff --git a/stdlib/Distributed/src/remotecall.jl b/stdlib/Distributed/src/remotecall.jl
index 614c0cc25e617..ddfa9a8c4f042 100644
--- a/stdlib/Distributed/src/remotecall.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Distributed/src/remotecall.jl
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ end
 
 any_gc_flag = Condition()
 function start_gc_msgs_task()
-    @schedule while true
+    @async while true
         wait(any_gc_flag)
         flush_gc_msgs()
     end
diff --git a/stdlib/Distributed/test/distributed_exec.jl b/stdlib/Distributed/test/distributed_exec.jl
index f073bc2ff9e74..73ce85215455a 100644
--- a/stdlib/Distributed/test/distributed_exec.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Distributed/test/distributed_exec.jl
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ c=Channel{Int}(1)
 
 # test channel iterations
 function test_iteration(in_c, out_c)
-    t=@schedule for v in in_c
+    t=@async for v in in_c
         put!(out_c, v)
     end
 
@@ -1105,7 +1105,7 @@ append!(testruns, [
 for (addp_testf, expected_errstr, env) in testruns
     old_stdout = stdout
     stdout_out, stdout_in = redirect_stdout()
-    stdout_txt = @schedule filter!(readlines(stdout_out)) do s
+    stdout_txt = @async filter!(readlines(stdout_out)) do s
             return !startswith(s, "\tFrom failed worker startup:\t")
         end
     try
diff --git a/stdlib/FileWatching/src/FileWatching.jl b/stdlib/FileWatching/src/FileWatching.jl
index e2759f7fa29f7..bc5408b1dbcd0 100644
--- a/stdlib/FileWatching/src/FileWatching.jl
+++ b/stdlib/FileWatching/src/FileWatching.jl
@@ -548,8 +548,8 @@ function poll_fd(s::Union{RawFD, Sys.iswindows() ? WindowsRawSocket : Union{}},
     try
         if timeout_s >= 0
             result::FDEvent = FDEvent()
-            @schedule (sleep(timeout_s); notify(wt))
-            @schedule begin
+            @async (sleep(timeout_s); notify(wt))
+            @async begin
                 try
                     result = wait(fdw, readable=readable, writable=writable)
                 catch e
@@ -584,7 +584,7 @@ function watch_file(s::AbstractString, timeout_s::Real=-1)
     fm = FileMonitor(s)
     try
         if timeout_s >= 0
-            @schedule (sleep(timeout_s); close(fm))
+            @async (sleep(timeout_s); close(fm))
         end
         return wait(fm)
     finally
@@ -628,7 +628,7 @@ function watch_folder(s::String, timeout_s::Real=-1)
             # We still take the events from the primary stream.
             fm2 = FileMonitor(s)
             try
-                @schedule (sleep(timeout_s); close(fm2))
+                @async (sleep(timeout_s); close(fm2))
                 while isopen(fm.notify) && !isready(fm.notify)
                     fm2.handle == C_NULL && return "" => FileEvent() # timeout
                     wait(fm2)
@@ -682,7 +682,7 @@ function poll_file(s::AbstractString, interval_seconds::Real=5.007, timeout_s::R
     pfw = PollingFileWatcher(s, Float64(interval_seconds))
     try
         if timeout_s >= 0
-            @schedule (sleep(timeout_s); close(pfw))
+            @async (sleep(timeout_s); close(pfw))
         end
         statdiff = wait(pfw)
         if isa(statdiff[2], UVError)
diff --git a/stdlib/Pkg3/src/Operations.jl b/stdlib/Pkg3/src/Operations.jl
index a444062dc6885..56239aa498962 100644
--- a/stdlib/Pkg3/src/Operations.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Pkg3/src/Operations.jl
@@ -481,14 +481,14 @@ function apply_versions(ctx::Context, pkgs::Vector{PackageSpec}, hashes::Dict{UU
     ########################################
     jobs = Channel(ctx.num_concurrent_downloads);
     results = Channel(ctx.num_concurrent_downloads);
-    @schedule begin
+    @async begin
         for pkg in pkgs_to_install
             put!(jobs, pkg)
         end
     end
 
     for i in 1:ctx.num_concurrent_downloads
-        @schedule begin
+        @async begin
             for (pkg, path) in jobs
                 if ctx.preview
                     put!(results, (pkg, true, path))
diff --git a/stdlib/REPL/src/REPL.jl b/stdlib/REPL/src/REPL.jl
index 3e24f3e8261a6..d2ac69050f51d 100644
--- a/stdlib/REPL/src/REPL.jl
+++ b/stdlib/REPL/src/REPL.jl
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ end
 
 function start_repl_backend(repl_channel::Channel, response_channel::Channel)
     backend = REPLBackend(repl_channel, response_channel, false)
-    backend.backend_task = @schedule begin
+    backend.backend_task = @async begin
         # include looks at this to determine the relative include path
         # nothing means cwd
         while true
diff --git a/stdlib/Sockets/test/nettest.jl b/stdlib/Sockets/test/nettest.jl
index 568efb3869953..1d3b5d041bfa5 100644
--- a/stdlib/Sockets/test/nettest.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Sockets/test/nettest.jl
@@ -115,29 +115,25 @@ test_send(9)
     bsent = 0
     bread = 0
 
-    @sync begin
-        # Create an asynchronous task that can modify bread properly
-        recv_task = @task begin
-            while bread < xfer_size
-                data = read(s, UInt8, xfer_block)
-                @assert length(data) == xfer_block
-                bread += xfer_block
-            end
+    # Create an asynchronous task that can modify bread properly
+    recv_task = @async begin
+        while bread < xfer_size
+            data = read(s, UInt8, xfer_block)
+            @assert length(data) == xfer_block
+            bread += xfer_block
         end
-        Base.sync_add(recv_task)
-        Base.enq_work(recv_task)
-
-        send_task = @task begin
-            # write in chunks of xfer_block
-            data = fill!(zeros(UInt8, xfer_block), Int8(65))
-            while bsent < xfer_size
-                write(s, data)
-                bsent += xfer_block
-            end
+    end
+
+    send_task = @async begin
+        # write in chunks of xfer_block
+        data = fill!(zeros(UInt8, xfer_block), Int8(65))
+        while bsent < xfer_size
+            write(s, data)
+            bsent += xfer_block
         end
-        Base.sync_add(send_task)
-        Base.enq_work(send_task)
     end
+    fetch(recv_task)
+    fetch(send_task)
 
     return (bsent, bread)
 end
diff --git a/stdlib/Sockets/test/runtests.jl b/stdlib/Sockets/test/runtests.jl
index ee71a3a4a42dc..b1b2188d8b1fc 100644
--- a/stdlib/Sockets/test/runtests.jl
+++ b/stdlib/Sockets/test/runtests.jl
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@ end
     let addr = Sockets.InetAddr(ip"127.0.0.1", 4444)
         srv = listen(addr)
         c = Condition()
-        r = @schedule try; close(accept(srv)); finally; notify(c); end
+        r = @async try; close(accept(srv)); finally; notify(c); end
         try
             close(connect(addr))
             fetch(c)
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ end
 
     let addr = Sockets.InetAddr(ip"127.0.0.1", 4444)
         srv = listen(addr)
-        r = @schedule close(srv)
+        r = @async close(srv)
         @test_throws Base.UVError("accept", Base.UV_ECONNABORTED) accept(srv)
         fetch(r)
     end
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ end
         srv = listen(addr)
         s = Sockets.TCPSocket()
         Sockets.connect!(s, addr)
-        r = @schedule close(s)
+        r = @async close(s)
         @test_throws Base.UVError("connect", Base.UV_ECANCELED) Sockets.wait_connected(s)
         fetch(r)
     end
diff --git a/test/channels.jl b/test/channels.jl
index 02689b2c27217..1b2eee5bb11b2 100644
--- a/test/channels.jl
+++ b/test/channels.jl
@@ -69,13 +69,13 @@ using Distributed
 @testset "channels bound to tasks" for N in [0, 10]
     # Normal exit of task
     c=Channel(N)
-    bind(c, @schedule (yield();nothing))
+    bind(c, @async (yield();nothing))
     @test_throws InvalidStateException take!(c)
     @test !isopen(c)
 
     # Error exception in task
     c=Channel(N)
-    bind(c, @schedule (yield();error("foo")))
+    bind(c, @async (yield();error("foo")))
     @test_throws ErrorException take!(c)
     @test !isopen(c)
 
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ end
         error in running finalizer: ErrorException("task switch not allowed from inside gc finalizer")
         """
     # test for invalid state in Workqueue during yield
-    t = @schedule nothing
+    t = @async nothing
     t.state = :invalid
     try
         newstderr = redirect_stderr()
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ end
 end
 
 @testset "schedule_and_wait" begin
-    t = @schedule(nothing)
+    t = @async(nothing)
     ct = current_task()
     testobject = "testobject"
     # note: there is a low probability this test could fail, due to receiving network traffic simultaneously
diff --git a/test/misc.jl b/test/misc.jl
index 2aeffff121625..08fd5e7d7ad77 100644
--- a/test/misc.jl
+++ b/test/misc.jl
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ end
 # task switching
 
 @noinline function f6597(c)
-    t = @schedule nothing
+    t = @async nothing
     finalizer(t -> c[] += 1, t)
     Base._wait(t)
     @test c[] == 0
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ end
     nothing
 end
 let c = Ref(0),
-    t2 = @schedule (wait(); c[] += 99)
+    t2 = @async (wait(); c[] += 99)
     @test c[] == 0
     f6597(c)
     GC.gc() # this should run the finalizer for t
@@ -129,6 +129,20 @@ let c = Ref(0),
     @test c[] == 100
 end
 
+# test that @sync is lexical (PR #27164)
+
+const x27164 = Ref(0)
+do_something_async_27164() = @async(begin sleep(1); x27164[] = 2; end)
+
+let t = nothing
+    @sync begin
+        t = do_something_async_27164()
+        @async (sleep(0.05); x27164[] = 1)
+    end
+    @test x27164[] == 1
+    fetch(t)
+    @test x27164[] == 2
+end
 
 # timing macros
 
diff --git a/test/read.jl b/test/read.jl
index e2e73fbe62e51..b701e0fdb3b91 100644
--- a/test/read.jl
+++ b/test/read.jl
@@ -556,7 +556,7 @@ end
 
 let p = Pipe()
     Base.link_pipe!(p, reader_supports_async=true, writer_supports_async=true)
-    t = @schedule read(p)
+    t = @async read(p)
     @sync begin
         @async write(p, zeros(UInt16, 660_000))
         for i = 1:typemax(UInt16)
diff --git a/test/spawn.jl b/test/spawn.jl
index 7c3541b97aea4..c0b7b3127ff5a 100644
--- a/test/spawn.jl
+++ b/test/spawn.jl
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ Sys.isunix() && run(pipeline(yescmd, `head`, devnull))
 
 let a, p
     a = Base.Condition()
-    @schedule begin
+    @async begin
         p = run(pipeline(yescmd,devnull), wait=false)
         Base.notify(a,p)
         @test !success(p)