verb
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to escape or avoid (capture, one's pursuers, etc), esp by cunning
-
to avoid fulfilment of (a responsibility, obligation, etc); evade
-
to escape discovery, or understanding by; baffle
the solution eluded her
Usage
Elude is sometimes wrongly used where allude is meant: he was alluding (not eluding) to his previous visit to the city
Related Words
See escape.
Other Word Forms
- eluder noun
- elusion noun
Etymology
Origin of elude
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin ēlūdere “to deceive, evade,” equivalent to ē- “from, out of” + lūdere “to play, deceive”; e- 1
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.
Miami was the only Power 4 Conference team that didn’t list player weights online for all of last summer, a fact that seemed to elude public notice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
The Londoner - having previously lost in world championship bouts to Sergey Kovalev in 2019 and Artur Beterbiev in 2022 - may now have to accept the possibility that a world title might elude him.
From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025
El-Fasher, the last state capital in the vast region of Darfur to elude the RSF's grasp, has become the latest strategic front in the war as the paramilitaries attempt to consolidate power in the west.
From Barron's • Oct. 11, 2025
For a long while, Newsom’s shiftiness seemed to elude his self-perception.
From Slate • Aug. 26, 2025
Even if they were lucky enough to elude the patrol, they could not possibly hide from the bloodhounds.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
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.
