get away

verb

1. to make an escape; leave

2. to make a start

3. 1. to steal and escape (with money, goods, etc)

   2. to do (something wrong, illegal, etc) without being discovered or punished or with only a minor punishment

interjection

1. an exclamation indicating mild disbelief

noun

1. the act of escaping, esp by criminals

2. a start or acceleration

3. (modifier) used for escaping

   a getaway car

Idioms and Phrases

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 .

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 .

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

"I told everyone to leave their belongings, leave the house, take their wives, children and elderly people and get away," he told BBC Urdu's Muhammad Zubair.

Read more on BBC

If California didn’t respond, Republicans would get away with stacking the congressional electoral map in their favor.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Not only is it way easier to get away with it in Kenya, the incentives are so much higher there.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

On his debut he was fortunate to get away with an ill-advised dash out of his penalty area.

Read more on BBC

Here’s a big takeaway from the past two federal shutdowns: Washington can get away with finger pointing for about a month before things get tricky.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• advance 
• blow 
• carry 
• change 
• climb 
• cross 
• drift 
• drive 
• flow 
• fly 
• go 
• jump 
• leave 
• migrate 
• proceed 
• progress 
• propel 
• push 
• relocate 
• remove