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.
And then you’re going to get some on the right, particularly the tech giants who will say, “This is the way we can go ahead with our project on AI and get away with it.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
"He is very lucky to get away with that one. If it was any higher it may have been different."
From BBC • May 5, 2026
Though he isn’t a Berkshire shareholder, he says he recognizes most businesses wouldn’t be able to get away with it.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
But as a writer and performer I’m trying to get away from the temptation to just please the audience.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
“Sure,” the girl said, but Jonah had the impression that she was just trying to get away.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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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.