escape
verb (used without object)
to slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty.
were escaping
-
past progressiveof escape.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Thousands of people, many of them elderly, were escaping the heat in evacuation shelters.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Many were escaping difficult lives at home, she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
“The last time we took this highway, we were escaping death,” Abu Warda said, his hands straining against the rope as he tightened it once more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2025
And at a subsequent screening he met several audience members who said they were from Mariupol and that their relatives were escaping the sieged city at the same time he was.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 12, 2023
I can bring up his face in my mind, but only because my mom had a picture of him in her shoebox while we were escaping Iran.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
