escalate

[es-kuh-leyt]

verb (used with or without object)

escalated, escalating 

1. to increase in intensity, magnitude, etc..

   to escalate a war; a time when prices escalate.

   Synonyms: swell, mount, advance
   Antonyms: fall, decrease, lower

2. to raise, lower, rise, or descend on or as if on an escalator.

escalate

/ ˈɛskəˌleɪt /

verb

1. to increase or be increased in extent, intensity, or magnitude

   to escalate a war

   prices escalated because of inflation

Pronunciation Note

See percolate.

Other Word Forms

• escalation noun
• escalatory adjective
• nonescalating adjective
• nonescalatory adjective
• reescalate verb
• reescalation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of escalate¹

First recorded in 1920–25; back formation from escalator

Word History and Origins

Origin of escalate¹

C20: back formation from _escalator

Example Sentences

The album ends with her resolving to confront her struggles with self-acceptance, with the frankly written “I Want To Be Better” — which escalates with the feverish punk pulse of “Onwards.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

An escalating trade war, a prolonged government shutdown and a stagnant job market have economists and analysts fearing that consumer spending, a central driver of the U.S. economy, might slow down.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He said state threats from Russia, China and Iran are escalating and MI5 had seen a 35% increase in the number of individuals it was investigating in the last year.

Read more on BBC

The tailwinds that buoyed growth in the prior quarter were stock trading and exports, which may not be sustainable, as China’s markets tend to be cyclical and escalating trade tensions will eventually bite, they said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

US forces have struck a second vessel alleged to be carrying drugs in the Pacific Ocean, amid an escalating US campaign against seaborne drug smuggling.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• expand 
• grow 
• heighten 
• intensify 
• mount 
• raise 
• rise 
• step up 
• widen