get away with

1. Escape the consequences or blame for, as in Bill often cheats on exams but usually gets away with it . [Late 1800s]

2. get away with murder . Escape the consequences of killing someone; also, do anything one wishes. For example, If the jury doesn't convict him, he'll have gotten away with murder , or He talks all day on the phone—the supervisor is letting him get away with murder . [First half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

A criminology student asked in a seminar how to get away with murder before stabbing a woman to death on a beach, a court has heard.

From BBC

He told the court the defendant asked questions "on DNA, how to get away with murder, these types of things".

From BBC

He added that companies “continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it,” officials told The Times.

From Salon

Later that year, he tested positive for a banned substance and was lucky to get away with a light sentence.

From BBC

The victims' families had previously called for a change in homicide law, with Mr Webber's mother Emma saying "murderers will get away with murder".

From BBC

Related Words

• avoid
• depart
• disappear
• dodge
• elude
• emerge
• evade
• flee
• fly
• leave
• run
• slip
• slip away
• vanish