narrow escape

Idioms  

1. A barely successful flight from or avoidance of danger or trouble, as in He had a narrow escape, since the bullet came within inches of his head. This expression uses narrow in the sense of “barely sufficient.” [Late 1500s] For a newer synonym, see close call.

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Example Sentences

Buoyed by that narrow escape, Paul then held to love to go 6-5 up, and suddenly the pressure was all on the 24-year-old from Buenos Aires, playing in his first ATP final.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

"It really was a narrow escape," says Gláucia.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

Hers begins with her family’s narrow escape from an occupied village west of Kyiv in the early days of the war.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

There are some marvelous set pieces, including an extended sequence on a claustrophobic boat and a narrow escape from an apartment that ratchet up the tension.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2024

Feeling braced after his mad ride and the subsequent narrow escape, Cluny strode to the ditch’s edge.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Related Words

• close call
• shocker