escape

[ ih-skeyp ]

/ ɪˈskeɪp /

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See synonyms for: escape / escaped / escapes / escaping on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), es·caped, es·cap·ing.

to slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty: to escape from jail.

to slip away from pursuit or peril; avoid capture, punishment, or any threatened evil.

to issue from a confining enclosure, as a fluid.

to slip away; fade: The words escaped from memory.

Botany. (of an originally cultivated plant) to grow wild.

(of a rocket, molecule, etc.) to achieve escape velocity.

verb (used with object), es·caped, es·cap·ing.

to slip away from or elude (pursuers, captors, etc.): He escaped the police.

to succeed in avoiding (any threatened or possible danger or evil): She escaped capture.

to elude (one's memory, notice, search, etc.).

to fail to be noticed or recollected by (a person): Her reply escapes me.

(of a sound or utterance) to slip from or be expressed by (a person, one's lips, etc.) inadvertently.

noun

an act or instance of escaping.

the fact of having escaped.

a means of escaping: We used the tunnel as an escape.

avoidance of reality: She reads mystery stories as an escape.

leakage, as of water or gas, from a pipe or storage container.

Botany. a plant that originated in cultivated stock and is now growing wild.

Physics, Rocketry. the act of achieving escape velocity.

(usually initial capital letter)Computers. Escape key.

adjective

for or providing an escape: an escape route.

OTHER WORDS FOR escape

1 flee, abscond, decamp.

7 dodge, flee, avoid.

12 flight.

See synonyms for escape on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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, cap¹

synonym study for escape

7. 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 WORDS FROM escape

es·cap·a·ble, adjectivees·cape·less, adjectivees·cap·er, nounes·cap·ing·ly, adverb

pre·es·cape, noun, verb (used without object), pre·es·caped, pre·es·cap·ing.self-es·cape, nounun·es·cap·a·ble, adjectiveun·es·cap·a·bly, adverbun·es·caped, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use escape in a sentence

That’s the problem with being locked up at home — you can’t escape.
All the president’s ‘Guys’|Ben Terris|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
Most spots outside the Beltway should see temperatures fall into the 20s for several hours, although downtown may escape its first freeze of the fall, at least officially.
PM Update: Hard freeze tonight for much of the area, then we start warming up Thursday|Ian Livingston|November 18, 2020|Washington Post
When you put your mask on, adjust the noseband accordingly and let your glasses sit over it so their weight further helps prevent air from escaping.
The best ways to stop a mask from fogging up your glasses, ranked|Sandra Gutierrez G.|November 18, 2020|Popular-Science
It doesn’t need to have escaped violence altogether, either, Jørgensen says.
Planets with many neighbors may be the best places to look for life|Lisa Grossman|November 16, 2020|Science News

To close the gap, this cheetah tripped its quarry as it attempted to escape, proving that sometimes, strategy is just as important as speed.
These Photos Remind Us Why Conservation Matters - Issue 92: Frontiers|Kevin Berger|November 11, 2020|Nautilus
He then escaped from his detention and arrived on Tverskaya Avenue to join his supporters.
Russia’s Rebel In Chief Escapes House Arrest|Anna Nemtsova|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Shin eventually escaped North Korean captivity while in Vienna.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fourteen years this woman had spent with Rigondeaux before he escaped.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Linsker initially escaped after the clash on the bridge but was arrested a short time later.
The High-Priced Union Rep Charged With Attacking a Cop|Jacob Siegel|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Patrick, who is openly gay and escaped the church with Fenner, is coming to their defense.
Beaten By His Church for Being Gay|Justin Jones|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The fight lasted two days, and only two men out of the five hundred escaped with their lives.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
The vessel escaped miraculously, with sails torn by shots from three Dutch vessels, which they took for one of their own.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
The result was that some 40 rebels were killed, others taken prisoners, and the remainder escaped into the planted fields.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Tom—I felt out of myself in a way—as though I'd escaped—into—into quite different conditions——'
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
Or, if I escaped these dangers for a day or two, what could I expect but a miserable death of cold and hunger?
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift

British Dictionary definitions for escape

escape

/ (ɪˈskeɪp) /

verb

to get away or break free from (confinements, captors, etc)the lion escaped from the zoo

to manage to avoid (imminent danger, punishment, evil, etc)to escape death

(intr usually foll by from) (of gases, liquids, etc) to issue gradually, as from a crack or fissure; seep; leakwater was escaping from the dam

(tr) to elude; be forgotten bythe actual figure escapes me

(tr) to be articulated inadvertently or involuntarilya roar escaped his lips

(intr) (of cultivated plants) to grow wild

noun

the act of escaping or state of having escaped

avoidance of injury, harm, etca narrow escape

a means or way of escape
(as modifier)an escape route

a means of distraction or relief, esp from reality or boredomangling provides an escape for many city dwellers

a gradual outflow; leakage; seepage

Also called: escape valve, escape cock a valve that releases air, steam, etc, above a certain pressure; relief valve or safety valve

a plant that was originally cultivated but is now growing wild

Derived forms of escape

escapable, adjectiveescaper, noun

Word Origin for escape

C14: from Old Northern French escaper, from Vulgar Latin excappāre (unattested) to escape (literally: to remove one's cloak, hence free oneself), from ex- 1 + Late Latin cappa cloak

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with escape

escape

In addition to the idiom beginning with escape

escape notice

also see:

narrow escape

escape

OTHER WORDS FOR escape

Origin of escape

synonym study for escape

OTHER WORDS FROM escape

Words related to escape

How to use escape in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for escape

Derived forms of escape

Word Origin for escape

Other Idioms and Phrases with escape