avoid

American  

[uh-void] / əˈvɔɪd /

verb (used with object)

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

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

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

Shadow-fleet shipowners avoid such scrutiny by securing flags from poor, developing countries such as Sierra Leone, which collect fees for registering the ships, but provide little oversight.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Baron was long known for his skepticism of tech stocks, a stance that helped him avoid pain from the 2000 dot-com meltdown.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

“Instead, the Plaintiffs and Defendant have agreed to a Settlement to avoid the risk, cost, and time of continuing the lawsuit.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026

She was convinced that this meant the doctors would finally have to induce her to avoid infection.

From Salon • May 27, 2026

When he left the room he closed the door carefully, to avoid a repeat of the disaster with Grief.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

Related Words

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