escape
Americanverb (used without object)
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escapes,
present (3rd person singular)
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escaped,
past participle, past
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escaping
present participle
-
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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escapes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
escaped,
past participle, past
-
escaping
present participle
-
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.).
-
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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escapes
plural
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an act or instance of escaping.
- Synonyms:
- flight
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the fact of having escaped.
-
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:
It feels like a little escape in the middle of the medina, and the smell of fresh coffee and Moroccan pastries is impossible to resist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
With warm natural finishes and sleek architectural details, it’s a serene escape conveniently located in a peaceful hillside pocket above the Sunset Strip.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Each time people tried to catch him, he would escape, according to the shelter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
She says people smugglers helped her to escape.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Elisha called this private upper floor “a sort of sanctuary; a retreat to which we are driven by mischief-making eyes and tongues. There, like wounded deer we escape the hunters.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Keeping the head steady while the rest of the body rotates may help the animals maintain control and navigate effectively during their rapid escapes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
The symbolism of that globe and what it meant completely escapes them, just as Eisenhower’s legacy has been dismissed by them wholesale.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026
He’s the one American wanderer who escapes Pamplona alone, returning to that same existence that he once found so commonplace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
As part of his preparations for the series, Bartlett went on a photo-taking expedition through Seattle and Tacoma, collecting imagery of Pacific Northwest grunge to share with his artists: crumbling walls, fire escapes, water towers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
While it makes perfect sense to me, this pragmatic view of religion escapes the Reverend utterly.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The Chicks had escaped that designation a few decades ago by the time they were doing this show.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026
The winking pup had escaped from his new home in San Francisco days after undergoing surgery — being neutered and having his right eye removed — and his adoption from an East Bay organization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
They have recrossed the brown river and escaped into the foreign parts beyond the Shire, where they now live, for better or worse, in the imaginations of Big Folk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Police sources told BBC Tamil that they were examining the possibility of collusion between some prison officials and the escaped men.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
By the fall of 1776, Washington, Billy Lee, and the defeated Continental Army had barely escaped with their lives.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Epic Love Photography founder Rob Dight, who has spent more than a decade photographing couples escaping the pressures of traditional weddings, said the day was unlike anything he had encountered before.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
An international research team, including astronomers from the University of Michigan, found that powerful winds produced by exploding stars can prevent ultraviolet radiation from escaping galaxies.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
While their cooperation helped stop some funds from escaping, Binance was still in a race to find and then freeze billions more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Sharon - aka Poundland Poirot - failed to appear in the dining room, having been chosen for the chopping block so soon after escaping banishment, throwing all the faithfuls into more confusion.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
“Remember,” whispered Habib, pinning an especially stern gaze on Mariam, “under no circumstance are you to tell anyone your real name. If anyone asks, tell them we are farmers escaping the fighting in our village.”
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
