escapade
Americannoun
-
a wild or exciting adventure, esp one that is mischievous or unlawful; scrape
-
any lighthearted or carefree episode; prank; romp
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of escapade
1645–55; < French < Spanish escapada, equivalent to escap ( ar ) to escape + -ada -ade 1
Explanation
An escapade is an adventure, tinged with a hint of danger. A road trip could be an escapade, or a few weeks making a living as a professional gambler, or posing as your twin sister and taking a test for her in math. You'll notice the similarities between the words escapade and escape. Usually an escapade involves some form of escape. If you cut class and spend the day at the beach, that's an escapade. If you cut class to watch former figure-skating greats boogying to Broadway tunes on ice, that's an escapade at the Ice Capades.
Vocabulary lists containing escapade
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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The Boy on the Wooden Box
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The Egypt Game
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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.
See Examples For:
He succeeds completely, making what could have been a ho-hum zombie movie into a wickedly funny escapade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Three of the group - Bex, Ali Wright and Amanda Jean - work with local radio station Now Ayrshire, which is why they all ended up roped into this escapade.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Our titular heroine is only 13 years old when her escapade begins – a little more mature than most of the director’s protagonists, but still innocent enough not to be jaded.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
A group of killer whales have been documented blowing a sunfish to bits in an unusual underwater escapade offering never-before-seen insights into orca behaviour, according to research released Thursday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
“It’s a good thing she doesn’t know about your escapade last night,” said Noor, giving him a measured look.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Readers found William so delightful—so infuriating, so crafty, so entertaining—that Crompton kept dreaming up escapades for him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Kopke, who has suggested this year will be his last time participating, has likened the popular interest in his cheese-rolling escapades to the pastimes of ancient civilisations.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
OK, so all of that’s totally true, but “Kevin” is mostly a silly, raunchy animated series with a star-studded comedy cast about talking animals and their escapades in a life generally free of human owners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
The warhorse Wawrinka departed for a medical timeout after the third set as his Melbourne escapades caught up with him.
From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026
But these escapades had occurred years earlier, in some cases decades earlier, when I was in my twenties and thirties.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
