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escape

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Escape is defined as to get away.

(verb)

An example of escape is to break out of prison.

The definition of an escape is a breaking away.

(noun)

An example of escape is a child breaking out of her playpen.

See escape in Webster's New World College Dictionary

intransitive verb escaped, escaping

to get free; get away; get out; break loose, as from a prison
to avoid an illness, accident, pain, etc.: two were injured, but he escaped
to flow, drain, or leak away: gas escaping from a pipe
to slip away; disappear: the image escaped from her memory
Bot. to grow wild, as a plant from a condition of cultivation

Origin: ME escapen < NormFr escaper, var. of eschaper < VL *excappare < L ex-, out of (see ex-) + LL cappa, cloak (i.e., leave one's cloak behind)

transitive verb

to get away from; flee from: to escape pursuers
to manage to keep away from; avoid: to escape punishment
to come from involuntarily or unintentionally: a scream escaped from her lips
to slip away from; be missed, unperceived, or forgotten by: his name escapes me

noun

an act or instance or escaping
the state of having escaped
a means or way of escape
an outward flow or leakage
a temporary mental release from reality: movies are her escape
Bot. a garden plant growing wild

Origin: ME escap

adjective

giving temporary mental release from reality
1. making escape possible: an escape hatch
2. giving a basis for evading or circumventing a claim, responsibility, etc.: an escape clause

Related Forms:

escapable adjective
escaper noun

See escape in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb es·caped, es·cap·ing, es·capes

verb, intransitive

To break loose from confinement; get free: escape from jail.
To issue from confinement or an enclosure; leak or seep out: Gas was escaping from the vent.
To avoid a serious or unwanted outcome: escaped from the accident with their lives.
Botany To become established in the wild. Used of a cultivated species.
Computer Science To interrupt a command, exit a program, or change levels within a program by using a key, combination of keys, or key sequence.

verb, transitive

To succeed in avoiding: The thief escaped punishment.
To break loose from; get free of: The spacecraft escaped Earth's gravitational field.
To elude the memory or comprehension of: Her name escapes me. The book's significance escaped him.
To issue involuntarily from: A sigh escaped my lips.

noun

The act or an instance of escaping.
A means of escaping.
A means of obtaining temporary freedom from worry, care, or unpleasantness: Television is my escape from worry.
A gradual effusion from an enclosure; a leakage.
Botany A plant that has become established away from the area of cultivation.
Computer Science A key, combination of keys, or key sequence, used especially to interrupt a command, exit a program, or change levels within a program.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English escapen

Origin: , from Old North French escaper

Origin: , from Vulgar Latin *excappāre, to get out of one's cape, get away

Origin: : Latin ex-, ex-

Origin: + Medieval Latin cappa, cloak

Related Forms:

es·capˈa·ble adjective

es·capˈer noun

Usage Note: Traditionally, escape is used with from when it means “break loose” and with a direct object when it means “avoid.” Thus we might say The forger escaped from prison by hiding in a laundry truck, but The forger escaped prison when he turned in his accomplices in order to get a suspended sentence. In recent years, however, escape has been used with a direct object in the sense “break free of”: The spacecraft will acquire sufficient velocity to escape the sun's gravitational attraction. This usage is well established and should be regarded as standard.

See escape in Ologies

Escape

drapetomania

a mania for running away.

enatation

Obsolete, swimming away, especially escaping by swimming.

escapism

the art or technique of escaping from chains, locked trunks, etc., especially when exhibited as a form of entertainment. —escapist, n., adj.

fugitation

fleeing from justice, as by a criminal.

hegira

a flight or escape to safety.