escape

American  

[ih-skeyp] / ɪˈskeɪp /

verb (used without object)

escaped, escaping

1. to slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty.

   to escape from jail.

   Synonyms:

   decamp, abscond, flee

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

3. to issue from a confining enclosure, as a fluid.

4. to slip away; fade.

   The words escaped from memory.

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

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

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verb (used with object)

escaped, escaping

1. to slip away from or elude (pursuers, captors, etc.).

   He escaped the police.

   Synonyms:

   avoid, flee, dodge

2. to succeed in avoiding (any threatened or possible danger or evil).

   She escaped capture.

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

4. to fail to be noticed or recollected by (a person).

   Her reply escapes me.

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

noun

1. an act or instance of escaping.

   Synonyms:

   flight

2. the fact of having escaped.

3. a means of escaping.

   We used the tunnel as an escape.

4. avoidance of reality.

   She reads mystery stories as an escape.

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

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

7. Physics, Rocketry. the act of achieving escape velocity.

8. (usually initial capital letter) Escape key.

adjective

1. for or providing an escape.

   an escape route.

escape British  

/ ɪˈskeɪp /

verb

1. to get away or break free from (confinements, captors, etc)

   the lion escaped from the zoo

2. to manage to avoid (imminent danger, punishment, evil, etc)

   to escape death

3. (of gases, liquids, etc) to issue gradually, as from a crack or fissure; seep; leak

   water was escaping from the dam

4. (tr) to elude; be forgotten by

   the actual figure escapes me

5. (tr) to be articulated inadvertently or involuntarily

   a roar escaped his lips

6. (intr) (of cultivated plants) to grow wild

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noun

1. the act of escaping or state of having escaped

2. avoidance of injury, harm, etc

   a narrow escape

3. 1. a means or way of escape

   2. ( as modifier )

      an escape route

4. a means of distraction or relief, esp from reality or boredom

   angling provides an escape for many city dwellers

5. a gradual outflow; leakage; seepage

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

7. a plant that was originally cultivated but is now growing wild

escape Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing escape

• narrow escape

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Related Words

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

• escapable
  adjective
• escapeless
  adjective
• escaper
  noun
• escapingly
  adverb
• preescape
  noun
• self-escape
  noun
• unescapable
  adjective
• unescapably
  adverb
• unescaped
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Loren Becker, a semi-retired registered nurse, had ducked into the Black Goose coffee shop in Union, Kentucky, to escape a downpour on Saturday morning.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

But don’t be surprised if more companies seek to escape their clutches by moving to Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

Sprinter Brittany Brown, a bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, now has a mural at the Claremont elementary school where she ran to escape childhood hardships.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

But divorcing a film like this from the times in which we’re absorbing it is short of impossible, no matter how much of an escape it provides for 109 minutes.

From Salon • May 17, 2026

She could not escape public interest in her life or the pain of missing Elisha.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• avoid
• depart
• disappear
• dodge
• elude
• emerge
• evade
• flee
• fly
• leave
• run
• slip
• slip away
• vanish