get away
Britishverb
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to make an escape; leave
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to make a start
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to steal and escape (with money, goods, etc)
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to do (something wrong, illegal, etc) without being discovered or punished or with only a minor punishment
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interjection
noun
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the act of escaping, esp by criminals
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a start or acceleration
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(modifier) used for escaping
a getaway car
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Break free, escape, as in The suspect ran down the street and got away , or I wanted to come but couldn't get away from the office . [c. 1300] A variant is get away from it all , meaning “to depart and leave one's surroundings or problems or work behind.” For example, Joe is taking a few days off—he needs to get away from it all .
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Start out or leave quickly, as in The greyhounds got away from the starting gate , or I thought I had the answer but it got away from me .
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Go, move off. For example, Get away from my desk! or Get away—I don't want you near that hot stove . [Late 1700s] Also see get away with .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And at times, it felt as though this one might get away from him too.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Although the WNBA’s leading scorer returned from an ankle injury to score 27 points, the Sparks still let a winnable game get away from them in a 104-96 loss.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
What irks me is how one-note the character writing is, and how the movie’s youthful, seemingly forward-thinking perspective allows Barker to get away with reducing Nikki to nothing.
From Salon • Jun. 4, 2026
"She was always going to get caught, it snowballed and she was never going to get away with it."
From BBC • May 26, 2026
As soon as we saw them, we knew we had to get away.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
