escape hatch
Americannoun
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a hatch used for emergency escape, as from a submarine or aircraft.
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a means of avoiding a troublesome situation; a ready or handy way out.
noun
Etymology
Origin of escape hatch
First recorded in 1920–25
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.
Finding “cross functional synergies” was, I always thought, the refuge of the insecure, a linguistic escape hatch to avoid responsibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
While the mechanics may be complicated, the upshot for savers is clear—anyone worried about declining saving account rates now has an escape hatch.
From Barron's ● Dec. 11, 2025
Red warning lights flash above the door, and inside there is an emergency escape hatch into a tunnel in case something went wrong.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2025
Throughout the novel, Rhys references Kant, De Beauvoir, Sartre, Virginia Woolf and Epictetus, among others, using knowledge as a balm and escape hatch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
His eyes dart around the room, as if he’s looking for a secret escape hatch.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
