avoid

American  

[uh-void] / əˈvɔɪd /

verb (used with object)

avoids, present (3rd person singular) avoided, past participle, past avoiding present participle

1. to keep away from; keep clear of; shun.

   to avoid a person;

   to avoid taxes;

   to avoid danger.

   Synonyms:

   dodge, elude, evade

   Antonyms:

   encounter, face, confront

2. to prevent from happening.

   to avoid falling.

3. Law. to make void or of no effect; invalidate.

4. Obsolete. to empty; eject or expel.

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avoid British  

/ əˈvɔɪd /

verb

1. to keep out of the way of

2. to refrain from doing

3. to prevent from happening

   to avoid damage to machinery

4. law to make (a plea, contract, etc) void; invalidate; quash

5. obsolete to expel

6. obsolete to depart from

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Synonym Usage

Avoid, escape mean to come through a potentially harmful or unpleasant experience, without suffering serious consequences. To avoid is to succeed in keeping away from something dangerous or undesirable: to avoid meeting an enemy. Escape suggests encountering peril but coming through it safely: to escape drowning.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonavoidable
  adjective
• avoidable
  adjective
• nonavoidably
  adverb
• avoider
  noun
• avoidably
  adverb
• nonavoidableness
  noun
• unavoiding
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has avoided
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have avoided
  perfect
• has been avoiding
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am avoiding
  progressive 1st person singular
• is avoiding
  progressive 3rd person singular
• avoiding
  participle
• are avoiding
  progressive
• avoids
  singular 3rd person
• have been avoiding
  perfect progressive

Past

• had avoided
  perfect
• was avoiding
  progressive singular
• had been avoiding
  perfect progressive
• avoided
  simple
• were avoiding
  progressive plural
• avoided
  participle

Future

• will avoid
  simple
• will have avoided
  perfect
• will have been avoiding
  perfect progressive
• will be avoiding
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of avoid

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English avoiden, from Anglo-French avoider, equivalent to a- ⁴ ( def. ) + void ( def. )

Explanation

If you avoid drinking coffee right before bed because it tends to keep you awake and makes you jittery, that means that you stay away from coffee at night. The verb avoid means to stop yourself from doing something or to keep something from happening. You might avoid the old lady next door who smells funny and always wants to pinch your cheek, or you could avoid a certain dangerous neighborhood in your city by taking a different route when you're walking home. It's easy to get avoid confused with a similar word, evade, which means "to avoid in a particularly tricky or sneaky way."

Example Sentences

He said he doesn’t want to name the exact locations yet to avoid tipping off officials who might try to stop them.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

It can provide electricity for only a few hours a day, and people avoid its flattened currency in favor of dollars.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Conventional logic would suggest that Iran should avoid actions that could endanger diplomacy.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

To avoid such problems, tax preparers try to give clients a head start.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

To avoid detection, I can shape-shift into a human teenager or a cow.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Related Words

• avert
• bypass
• dodge
• escape
• evade
• fend off
• shun
• sidestep