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.
There are beautiful trails to go to, just to calm down and get away from all the craziness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026
Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher talking to Sky Sports: Bruno Fernandes is Manchester United's best player, we can't get away from that.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Otherwise, “I know it could get away from me really quickly,” said Keller, marketing chief at a credit union who recently became a father.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
“It kind of makes intuitive sense. If you are an investor and on the sidelines, you are watching the market get away from you,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026
But before I could get away, Samir spoke again.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.