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.

---

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

---

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

See Examples For:

avoid avoids avoided avoiding

Last year, Boeing and the Department of Justice reached another non-prosecution agreement, allowing the company to avoid trial by paying additional penalties and compliance investments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

There’s just so much to think about when it comes to consolidating, whole-portfolio rebalancing, withdrawal sequencing in retirement to avoid risk, Social Security timing, health-insurance coverage prior to Medicare, and long-term-care planning.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

India, the world's largest consumer of sugar, is trying to avoid a bittersweet festive season.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Well, first, I do not say that all fights are worth facing—some are better to avoid.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

“We should avoid town,” says Caesar, riding beside our wagon.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Shein says it conducts regular third-party audits to ensure fair wages, and it says its on-demand model avoids overproduction and thus "dramatically reduces waste".

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

He chooses busier border crossings, avoids books prominently featuring politically sensitive figures and has hidden books inside his clothes, or deep in his luggage.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Teng mostly avoids on-camera interviews with her subjects, preferring to watch them interacting with patients or in the operating room.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

By fighting, Harvard now avoids both, though other lawsuits are outstanding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

She gets up and I follow her footsteps as she nimbly avoids the rotting patches of floor.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green

Dean avoided the spotlight and was seldom seen with Parton in public.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Quarterback Kingston Tisdell avoided the rush and threw the ball down the middle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

The Times, CNN, and other outlets that have covered the imbroglio have scrupulously avoided using the word affair.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

Britt and her partner were walking through the town when they narrowly avoided injury.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

It had crossed the dirt path and avoided the feet of those watching the rescue efforts, draping over the cliff.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

It is possible the campaign could cajole China into doing more to pressure Iran, while avoiding a more direct confrontation between the world’s biggest economies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Vance took a subtly centrist tone in his speech, evoking his blue-collar upbringing while avoiding much of the harsh rhetoric that has made Trump so divisive.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Maybe someday we’ll have leaders who understand the internet and the importance of avoiding perverse incentives.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

I understand the usual arguments — reducing future RMDs, avoiding higher future tax brackets, and creating tax-free assets for heirs — but I’m not sure they carry much weight in my particular case.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

The two Witchlings were quieter than rabbits avoiding a wolf.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Related Words

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