escalation
CulturalExplanation
An escalation is an increase or growth. When there's an escalation in tension between two countries, it means that things have become much more strained between them. An escalation in Christmas tree prices means that your holiday decor will be more expensive this year, and an escalation of violence in a particular country will probably keep you from traveling there until things calm down. When something gets bigger or more intense, there's an escalation. The word comes from the verb escalate, which in turn is a back-formation from escalator. The Latin root of all three words is scala, or "ladder."
Vocabulary lists containing escalation
The Vocabulary of Soviet-Era Nostalgia & Cold War Spy Words
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 7–August 13, 2021
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STAAR U.S. History 4
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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.
“Both sides are preparing for an escalation, the U.S. with economic warfare and Iran with military threats,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior director at the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Mexico’s new strategy represents an escalation from the country’s traditional policy of filing protests through diplomatic channels while assisting families with legal advice, paperwork and shipping remains back to Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The escalation also puts into question the future of a North American free trade pact between Canada, the US and Mexico called the USMCA.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
But alliances can withstand a lot of friction—physical proximity alone probably makes a wholesale U.S.-Canada divorce impossible—and escalation isn’t guaranteed.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
He acknowledged that this represented an escalation, but given Hamilton’s arrogant evasiveness, “more will now be required than would have been asked at first.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
