escape
Americanverb (used without object)
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to slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty.
to escape from jail.
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to slip away from pursuit or peril; avoid capture, punishment, or any threatened evil.
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to issue from a confining enclosure, as a fluid.
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to slip away; fade.
The words escaped from memory.
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Botany. (of an originally cultivated plant) to grow wild.
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(of a rocket, molecule, etc.) to achieve escape velocity.
verb (used with object)
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to slip away from or elude (pursuers, captors, etc.).
He escaped the police.
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to succeed in avoiding (any threatened or possible danger or evil).
She escaped capture.
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to elude (one's memory, notice, search, etc.).
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to fail to be noticed or recollected by (a person).
Her reply escapes me.
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(of a sound or utterance) to slip from or be expressed by (a person, one's lips, etc.) inadvertently.
noun
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an act or instance of escaping.
- Synonyms:
- flight
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the fact of having escaped.
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a means of escaping.
We used the tunnel as an escape.
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avoidance of reality.
She reads mystery stories as an escape.
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leakage, as of water or gas, from a pipe or storage container.
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Botany. a plant that originated in cultivated stock and is now growing wild.
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Physics, Rocketry. the act of achieving escape velocity.
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(usually initial capital letter) Escape key.
adjective
verb
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to get away or break free from (confinements, captors, etc)
the lion escaped from the zoo
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to manage to avoid (imminent danger, punishment, evil, etc)
to escape death
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(of gases, liquids, etc) to issue gradually, as from a crack or fissure; seep; leak
water was escaping from the dam
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(tr) to elude; be forgotten by
the actual figure escapes me
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(tr) to be articulated inadvertently or involuntarily
a roar escaped his lips
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(intr) (of cultivated plants) to grow wild
noun
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the act of escaping or state of having escaped
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avoidance of injury, harm, etc
a narrow escape
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a means or way of escape
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( as modifier )
an escape route
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a means of distraction or relief, esp from reality or boredom
angling provides an escape for many city dwellers
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a gradual outflow; leakage; seepage
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Also called: escape valve. escape cock. a valve that releases air, steam, etc, above a certain pressure; relief valve or safety valve
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a plant that was originally cultivated but is now growing wild
Synonym Usage
Escape, elude, evade mean to keep free of something. To escape is to succeed in keeping away from danger, pursuit, observation, etc.: to escape punishment. To elude implies baffling pursuers or slipping through an apparently tight net: The fox eluded the hounds. To evade is to turn aside from or go out of reach of a person or thing: to evade the police. See also avoid.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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escapernoun
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preescapenoun
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self-escapenoun
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escapableadjective
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escapelessadjective
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unescapableadjective
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unescapedadjective
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escapinglyadverb
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unescapablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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escapesimple
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escapessimple
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have escapedperfect
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has escapedperfect
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am escapingprogressive
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are escapingprogressive
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is escapingprogressive
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have been escapingperfect progressive
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has been escapingperfect progressive
Past
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escapedsimple
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had escapedperfect
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was escapingprogressive
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were escapingprogressive
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had been escapingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of escape
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English escapen, ascapen, from Old North French escaper, from French échapper or directly from unattested Vulgar Latin excappāre, verbal derivative (with ex- “out of, from”) of Late Latin cappa “hooded cloak”; see ex- 1, cap 1
Explanation
To escape is to break free, to get out of a situation you don’t want to be in. It’s also a noun, as in an escape from a dull party that might involve a ladder and an upstairs window. It’s hard to pin down the word escape. An escape can be the act of escaping, like an escape from prison, but an escape can also be a calming retreat, like a vacation that gets you away from the stress of everyday life. As a verb, escape also means, "to fail to experience or know.” If the humor escapes you, you don't find the joke funny.
Vocabulary lists containing escape
Beowulf vocabulary
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"The Experiment" and "Superstition"
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Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 2
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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.
See Examples For:
Besides, people like baseball because it’s an escape, a distraction, a diversion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Some offloaded their claims before the Supreme Court struck down global tariffs this year to escape the limbo of when or if any money would arrive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
As it restructures in a bid to escape the doldrums, Ubisoft in June closed studios in Canada's Winnipeg and the Serbian capital Belgrade.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
There were 27 people working in different sections inside the tunnel - of which two managed to escape after the explosion and 25 were trapped.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
They released me and I scrambled to my hands and knees to search for a way to escape, but I was surrounded.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
But Joshua produced one of the greatest escapes of his career, and now that fight is on.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Unlike Guzmán and his sons, who are known for more dramatic displays like prison escapes, Zambada worked more stealthily to avoid prison for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Panama is preparing to announce changes to its prison system in July following inmate escapes, while Honduras plans to purchase drones from Ukraine for its anti-drug efforts.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
People celebrated on roofs, on fire escapes, at watch parties in parks and bars, at Radio City Music Hall, atop buses, on the balconies of Times Square hotels, on airplanes and in subway cars.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026
After pulling off one of the great suburban escapes of all time, I’m getting sidelined on a technicality.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
Two OpenAI models recently escaped from a research network while being trained and hacked into another AI company, adding to concerns about rogue models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
"It's good to have escaped the heatwave," said the recently retired couple from the southern French city of Marseille.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
The Secret Service has said it is dealing with an unprecedented number of threats against the people it protects, including President Donald Trump, who has escaped several assassination attempts.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
When they escaped into the wild, which they seem to have done with not too much difficulty, they didn’t just run.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
She’d risked a lot to help him, and he couldn’t have escaped without her.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
People in towns and villages around Madrid have been relaying their experiences of escaping the fires, some with just the clothes they were wearing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Although the escaping material is launched in random directions, the kicks do not cancel out perfectly.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
After escaping Manhattan, he wonders, “Where do you go? There’s no place else. It was like going on the lam from yourself.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Not from escaping defeat against Egypt, but relief he hadn't let his team-mates down after missing a penalty that, for a while, threatened to end Argentina's tournament.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
The light was Samir’s wool, set ablaze by the flames escaping through the tavern window.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
