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Synonyms

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.

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.

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

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

The duo only made a narrow escape, running from an Alpha in a heart-pounding chase sequence that boasts breathtaking experimental camerawork from Boyle.

From Salon • Jun. 20, 2025

Ravens 24, Seahawks 16: Seattle showed some vulnerability in last Sunday’s narrow escape against Cleveland and now get a better team — and much more accomplished quarterback — in a tough road setting.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 3, 2023

He was worried at the thought of the narrow escape that she had had, but he was relieved that she was now safe.

From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith

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.