getaway

American  

[get-uh-wey] / ˈgɛt əˌweɪ /

noun

• getaways
  plural

1. a getting away or fleeing; an escape.

2. the start of a race.

   a fast getaway.

3. a place where one escapes for relaxation, vacation, etc., or a period of time for such recreation.

   a little seaside getaway; a two-week getaway in the Bahamas.

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adjective

1. used as a means of escape or fleeing.

   a stolen getaway car.

2. used for occasional relaxation, retreat, or reclusion.

   a weekend getaway house.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• getaways
  plural

Etymology

Origin of getaway

First recorded in 1850–55; noun use of verb phrase get away

Explanation

A getaway is a speedy escape, like the getaway bank robbers make when they flee the crime scene in a car. The word getaway is so often used for fleeing criminals that it's also a way to describe the vehicle they use: "Follow that getaway car!" A completely different type of getaway is a vacation, like your family's weekend getaway to the Catskills last summer. The "escape" meaning is older, and it originally referred to foxes that eluded hunters.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

getaway getaways

He later outfitted his island escape with a Balinese-style villa and bungalows, creating a private getaway worthy of a Hollywood mogul.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

This time, however, my parents brought a fifth member to our New England getaway: Claude, Anthropic’s AI chatbot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

According to People, Prince Harry and Markle will maintain their Montecito chateau as well as their Portugal getaway pad but will reside at a private, non-royal home in the U.K.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Cali Adeline’s debut novel ‘People Watching in the Desert’ uses the tropes of a breezy summer getaway to explore the thorny, Didion-esque ethics of the stories we tell about others.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Fadi was only halfway through the first chapter, so he didn’t know how successful Claudia had been in her getaway, old-fashioned or not, but he sure hoped that his family would be.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

The iconic example of ‘organic architecture,’ constructed as a lodge for weekend getaways, embedded a modern building in the landscape in a radical vision of the way each could enhance the other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Expect Americans to take fewer vacations or opt for smaller getaways closer to home as a result, Gus Faucher, PNC chief economist, tells Barron’s.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

It’s also steps from Joshua Tree National Park, one of the nation’s most beloved desert getaways where about 3 million people visit annually.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026

His 24-year-old son, Benjamin Kanter, remembers attending getaways as a child, playing games at the dining table while adults talked business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

She even had a track of fast banjo music that she played on her iPod for these getaways.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner