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

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• avoiding
  present
• avoided
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• avoid
  simple
• avoids
  simple
• have avoided
  perfect
• has avoided
  perfect
• am avoiding
  progressive
• are avoiding
  progressive
• is avoiding
  progressive
• have been avoiding
  perfect progressive
• has been avoiding
  perfect progressive

Past

• avoided
  simple
• had avoided
  perfect
• was avoiding
  progressive
• were avoiding
  progressive
• had been avoiding
  perfect progressive

Future

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

Known the world over for cutting-edge technology and innovative design, Germany's car industry, powered by exports, has so far managed to avoid the drastic decline seen in countries like Britain, France and Italy.

From Barron's • Jul. 12, 2026

“I’m so allergic to crowds that I will do what it takes to avoid them,” said Rachel Ratliff, a 57-year-old retired lawyer from San Francisco who recently spent three weeks traveling in Crete.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 12, 2026

England face an uphill battle to avoid defeat in the one-off Test at Lord's as India took control on day two.

From BBC • Jul. 11, 2026

To avoid that problem, a research team led by Professor Arata Kaneko took a different approach.

From Science Daily • Jul. 11, 2026

A caterer would be circulating with appetizers on silver trays while Dad hid in the kitchen to avoid socializing.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

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