escape velocity

American  

noun

Physics, Rocketry.

1. the minimum speed that an object at a given distance from a gravitating body must have so that it will continue to move away from the body instead of orbiting about it.

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escape velocity British  

noun

1. the minimum velocity that a body must have in order to escape from the gravitational field of the earth or other celestial body

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escape velocity Scientific  

/ ĭ-skāp′ /

1. The velocity needed for a celestial body to overcome the gravitational pull of another, larger body and not fall back to that body's surface. Escape velocity is determined by the mass of the larger body and by the distance of the smaller body from the larger one's center. Depending on its initial trajectory, a smaller body traveling at the escape velocity will either enter a periodic orbit around the larger body or recede from the surface of the larger body indefinitely. The escape velocity at the Earth's surface is about 11.2 kilometers per second (25,000 miles per hour); the escape velocity on the Moon's surface is 2.4 kilometers per second (5,300 miles per hour). The escape velocity within the event horizon of a black hole is higher than the speed of light; since nothing can exceed the speed of light, nothing—even light—can escape from within the event horizon of a black hole.

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escape velocity Cultural  

1. The speed an object must reach to escape the pull of gravitation exerted by another object.

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Discover More

To overcome the gravitation of the Earth and place an artificial satellite in orbit, a rocket must reach a speed of about 25,000 miles per hour, or about seven miles per second.

Etymology

Origin of escape velocity

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

The fear is that sustained higher oil prices could feed back into inflation, just as many parts of the world thought they were finally achieving escape velocity.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 4, 2026

That’s been the order since tracking of the race began, with no candidate—whether they’re spending $60 million or not—able to achieve any sort of escape velocity.

From Slate • Mar. 2, 2026

“The combination of lower rates, artificial intelligence, more productivity and additional fiscal support from government spending on infrastructure, could help the markets achieve escape velocity in 2026.”

From Barron's • Dec. 9, 2025

He’s also touted even wilder ideas, saying on X that 100 terawatts a year “is possible from a lunar base producing solar-powered AI satellites locally and accelerating them to escape velocity with a mass driver.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025

I wondered if teachers were people who, for whatever reason, couldn’t reach the escape velocity of high school.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson