escalate

[ es-kuh-leyt ]

/ ˈɛs kəˌleɪt /

verb (used with or without object), es·ca·lat·ed, es·ca·lat·ing.

to increase in intensity, magnitude, etc.: to escalate a war; a time when prices escalate.

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

Nearby words

esc., escabeche, escadrille, escadrille américaine, escalade, escalate, escalation, escalator, escalator clause, escalatory, escallonia

Origin of escalate

First recorded in 1920–25; back formation from escalator

SYNONYMS FOR escalate

1 advance, mount, swell.

ANTONYMS FOR escalate

1 lower, decrease, fall.

Related forms

es·ca·la·tion, nounes·ca·la·to·ry

[es-kuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈɛs kə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectivenon·es·ca·lat·ing, adjectivenon·es·ca·la·to·ry, adjective

re·es·ca·late, verb, re·es·ca·lat·ed, re·es·ca·lat·ing.re·es·ca·la·tion, noun

Pronunciation note

See percolate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for escalatory

The escalatory ladder is far more terrifying than it was on the eve of the millennium.
ICYMI: India-Pakistan Head for Nuke War|Bruce Riedel|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet if he retaliates with more economic sanctions or some military move, Pyongyang might start climbing the escalatory ladder.
War Looms for Obama in Iran, Syria, and North Korea|Leslie H. Gelb|April 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for escalatory

escalate

/ (ˈɛskəˌleɪt) /

verb

to increase or be increased in extent, intensity, or magnitudeto escalate a war; prices escalated because of inflation

Derived Formsescalation, noun

Word Origin for escalate

C20: back formation from escalator

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012