escape
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty.
to escape from jail.
-
to slip away from pursuit or peril; avoid capture, punishment, or any threatened evil.
-
to issue from a confining enclosure, as a fluid.
-
to slip away; fade.
The words escaped from memory.
-
Botany. (of an originally cultivated plant) to grow wild.
-
(of a rocket, molecule, etc.) to achieve escape velocity.
verb (used with object)
-
to slip away from or elude (pursuers, captors, etc.).
He escaped the police.
-
to succeed in avoiding (any threatened or possible danger or evil).
She escaped capture.
-
to elude (one's memory, notice, search, etc.).
-
to fail to be noticed or recollected by (a person).
Her reply escapes me.
-
(of a sound or utterance) to slip from or be expressed by (a person, one's lips, etc.) inadvertently.
noun
-
an act or instance of escaping.
- Synonyms:
- flight
-
the fact of having escaped.
-
a means of escaping.
We used the tunnel as an escape.
-
avoidance of reality.
She reads mystery stories as an escape.
-
leakage, as of water or gas, from a pipe or storage container.
-
Botany. a plant that originated in cultivated stock and is now growing wild.
-
Physics, Rocketry. the act of achieving escape velocity.
-
(usually initial capital letter) Escape key.
adjective
verb
-
to get away or break free from (confinements, captors, etc)
the lion escaped from the zoo
-
to manage to avoid (imminent danger, punishment, evil, etc)
to escape death
-
(of gases, liquids, etc) to issue gradually, as from a crack or fissure; seep; leak
water was escaping from the dam
-
(tr) to elude; be forgotten by
the actual figure escapes me
-
(tr) to be articulated inadvertently or involuntarily
a roar escaped his lips
-
(intr) (of cultivated plants) to grow wild
noun
-
the act of escaping or state of having escaped
-
avoidance of injury, harm, etc
a narrow escape
-
-
a means or way of escape
-
( as modifier )
an escape route
-
-
a means of distraction or relief, esp from reality or boredom
angling provides an escape for many city dwellers
-
a gradual outflow; leakage; seepage
-
Also called: escape valve. escape cock. a valve that releases air, steam, etc, above a certain pressure; relief valve or safety valve
-
a plant that was originally cultivated but is now growing wild
Synonym Usage
Escape, elude, evade mean to keep free of something. To escape is to succeed in keeping away from danger, pursuit, observation, etc.: to escape punishment. To elude implies baffling pursuers or slipping through an apparently tight net: The fox eluded the hounds. To evade is to turn aside from or go out of reach of a person or thing: to evade the police. See also avoid.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
escapernoun
-
preescapenoun
-
self-escapenoun
-
escapableadjective
-
escapelessadjective
-
unescapableadjective
-
unescapedadjective
-
escapinglyadverb
-
unescapablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
escapesimple
-
escapessimple
-
have escapedperfect
-
has escapedperfect
-
am escapingprogressive
-
are escapingprogressive
-
is escapingprogressive
-
have been escapingperfect progressive
-
has been escapingperfect progressive
Past
-
escapedsimple
-
had escapedperfect
-
was escapingprogressive
-
were escapingprogressive
-
had been escapingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of escape
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English escapen, ascapen, from Old North French escaper, from French échapper or directly from unattested Vulgar Latin excappāre, verbal derivative (with ex- “out of, from”) of Late Latin cappa “hooded cloak”; see ex- 1, cap 1
Explanation
To escape is to break free, to get out of a situation you don’t want to be in. It’s also a noun, as in an escape from a dull party that might involve a ladder and an upstairs window. It’s hard to pin down the word escape. An escape can be the act of escaping, like an escape from prison, but an escape can also be a calming retreat, like a vacation that gets you away from the stress of everyday life. As a verb, escape also means, "to fail to experience or know.” If the humor escapes you, you don't find the joke funny.
Vocabulary lists containing escape
Beowulf vocabulary
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Experiment" and "Superstition"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
At a time when cataloging travel woes have become such a big part of the cultural conversation, it offers the ultimate escape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Even with a more bespoke training programme, Ramsay-Peaty cannot escape the hard facts.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
More generally, he added, "this withdrawal weakens the international architecture of criminal justice and heightens fears that the perpetrators of the most serious crimes will escape any prosecution".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Later studies by Wagner's group and other scientists showed that this shortening occurs across many types of cancer and may help tumors adapt, survive, and escape treatment.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
I take a perverse satisfaction in rushing off toward Dara, planning to drop her food and finally find my escape route.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
There were some more positive voices, including Variety's Owen Gleiberman, external, who said it "escapes the remake blues - in fact it soars above them".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Panama is preparing to announce changes to its prison system in July following inmate escapes, while Honduras plans to purchase drones from Ukraine for its anti-drug efforts.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
While she never escapes the gravitational pull of her own gendered perspective, Ms. Saxbe nonetheless posits fresh approaches on how men parent and where they might improve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
People celebrated on roofs, on fire escapes, at watch parties in parks and bars, at Radio City Music Hall, atop buses, on the balconies of Times Square hotels, on airplanes and in subway cars.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026
A laugh escapes my lips before I can stop it.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
It was first introduced as an ornamental garden plant used primarily in large stately homes, but it subsequently escaped into the wider countryside.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The most recent occurrence, in late 2015 and early 2016, resulted in an estimated $3.9 trillion in economic losses worldwide, though the U.S. escaped relatively unscathed.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
"It's good to have escaped the heatwave," said the recently retired couple from the southern French city of Marseille.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
OpenAI’s revelation this past week that its AI models escaped confinement and hacked another tech company’s systems gave new credibility to fears that this technology can, in fact, go sci-fi villain mode.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
“She can fly. She escaped a murderer. She won’t give up. It’s not something she knows how to do.”
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
But Miles struggles futilely to stay at his desk, frequently escaping to explore Greensbury and to make the acquaintance of the town’s inhabitants, a decidedly quirky lot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
People in towns and villages around Madrid have been relaying their experiences of escaping the fires, some with just the clothes they were wearing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
The study, published July 16 in Science, describes observations of helium escaping from LHS 1140 b, a rocky exoplanet located about 48 light-years from Earth.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
After escaping Manhattan, he wonders, “Where do you go? There’s no place else. It was like going on the lam from yourself.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Flushed and sweating, they were also resigned to the fact that there was no escaping an odor of meat and vegetables, which was wafting through the windows from the market stalls outside.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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.
