getaway

American  

[get-uh-wey] / ˈgɛt əˌweɪ /

noun

getaways plural

1. a getting away or fleeing; an escape.

2. the start of a race.

   a fast getaway.

3. a place where one escapes for relaxation, vacation, etc., or a period of time for such recreation.

   a little seaside getaway; a two-week getaway in the Bahamas.

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adjective

1. used as a means of escape or fleeing.

   a stolen getaway car.

2. used for occasional relaxation, retreat, or reclusion.

   a weekend getaway house.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• getaways
  plural

Etymology

Origin of getaway

First recorded in 1850–55; noun use of verb phrase get away

Explanation

A getaway is a speedy escape, like the getaway bank robbers make when they flee the crime scene in a car. The word getaway is so often used for fleeing criminals that it's also a way to describe the vehicle they use: "Follow that getaway car!" A completely different type of getaway is a vacation, like your family's weekend getaway to the Catskills last summer. The "escape" meaning is older, and it originally referred to foxes that eluded hunters.

Example Sentences

Now her work comes to television, starring Jennifer Garner as Hollis Shaw, a food personality who hosts a getaway with friends from different stages of her life after her husband dies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026

You speak to dozens of people – one saw the getaway car, another noticed the robber’s jacket.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2026

The pair fled on foot, police said, and were apprehended by officers, while Rodriguez-Pulido was arrested nearby while driving a suspected getaway vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

But the decline in numbers predates the recent conflict, which begs the question: why are foreign visitors, who've patronised the relaxed budget getaway since the hippie heyday of the 1960s and 1970s, now turning away?

From BBC • May 16, 2026

Thinking she hadn’t seen me, I turned to make a clean getaway.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool