narrow escape

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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RELATED WORDS

shocker, cliffhanger, thriller, squeaker, spine-chiller

Nearby words

narrativize, narrator, narrow, narrow boat, narrow construction, narrow escape, narrow gauge, narrow seas, narrow-angle glaucoma, narrow-bodied, narrow-fisted

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.