get away
Britishverb
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to make an escape; leave
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to make a start
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to steal and escape (with money, goods, etc)
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to do (something wrong, illegal, etc) without being discovered or punished or with only a minor punishment
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interjection
noun
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the act of escaping, esp by criminals
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a start or acceleration
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(modifier) used for escaping
a getaway car
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Break free, escape, as in The suspect ran down the street and got away , or I wanted to come but couldn't get away from the office . [c. 1300] A variant is get away from it all , meaning “to depart and leave one's surroundings or problems or work behind.” For example, Joe is taking a few days off—he needs to get away from it all .
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Start out or leave quickly, as in The greyhounds got away from the starting gate , or I thought I had the answer but it got away from me .
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Go, move off. For example, Get away from my desk! or Get away—I don't want you near that hot stove . [Late 1700s] Also see get away with .
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.
Yes, it is huge but it is not fan-friendly and it is an expensive pain to get to and get away from.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Plenty of U.S. investors buy emerging-markets funds precisely to get away from U.S. tech stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
What concerns him isn’t the tool itself so much as what it could let a lazier version of himself get away with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Diaz’s attorney, Matthew Barhoma, also maintained that his client is innocent — and blamed ICE for letting the people he accused of being the real killers get away with it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Aiden squeezes past me, like he can’t get away from me fast enough, and rushes back into the restaurant.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
