escape Definition
es·cape (e skāp′, i-)
intransitive verb -·caped′, -·cap′·ing
- 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
Etymology: 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
Etymology: ME escap
adjective
- giving temporary mental release from reality
- making escape possible an escape hatch
- giving a basis for evading or circumventing a claim, responsibility, etc. an escape clause
escape Related Forms
escape Synonyms
escape
n.
The act of escaping
flight, getaway, retreat, disappearance, evasion, avoidance, leave, departure, withdrawal, hegira, elopement, desertion, abdication, decampment, liberation, deliverance, rescue, freedom, release, extrication, breakout, jailbreak, break*, French leave*, close call*, close shave*, slip*, AWOL*. * Antonyms
imprisonment*, retention*, capture. * Place of escape
exit, outlet, way out, loophole, overflow, outflow, leakage, leak, fire escape, waste pipe, sewer, hatch, porthole, alleyway, floodgate, exhaust, draft, escape valve, vent. Mental release
distraction, diversion, escapism; see avoidance, entertainment 1, oblivion 1.
escape Synonyms
escape
v.
escape implies a getting out of, a keeping away from, or simply a remaining unaffected by an impending or present danger, evil, confinement, etc. to escape death, criticism, etc.; to avoid is to make a conscious effort to keep clear of something undesirable or harmful to avoid crowds during a flu epidemic; to evade is to escape or avoid by artifice, cunning, adroitness, etc. to evade pursuit, one's duty, etc.; to elude is to escape the grasp of someone or something by artful or slippery dodges or because of a baffling quality the criminal eluded the police, the meaning eluded him
escape Usage Examples
Object
- persecution: They are escaping persecution, death or devastation in their home country.
- clutch: Can Riddick escape the clutches of the mercs long enough to free his ward, Kyra from Crematoria and fulfill his destiny?
- hustle: Its a great place to escape the inner city hustle and bustle.
- punishment: The child tries to escape the flies punishment twice, then gets stuck onto the paper child-killer.
- fate: Where is the soul that has escaped the fate of hell through the efficacy of faith in Jesus?
- censure: It escaped censure by promising to co-operate fully with the DoJ probe.
Adjective modifier
- lucky: Anyway, looks like we had a lucky escape from nearly buying a lemon.
- daring: The ship made a daring escape under cover of darkness, some 100 days later.
- narrow: In 1641 he had a narrow escape from a treacherous death on the outbreak of the rising.
Adjective complement
- unscathed: After escaping relatively unscathed from The Phantom Menace, Portman herself suffers somewhat in this film.
- unhurt: The bed was blown to bits, but he escaped unhurt.
- unharmed: Hunting is the survival of the fittest as the quarry is given the chance to escape unharmed.
- unpunished: But across the board, Tony Blair will escape unpunished.
Noun used with modifier
- backslash: In the macro body, the backslash escapes described above are expanded.
- tilde: Print a summary of tilde escapes, paged through the command specified by the PAGER variable.
Preposition: from
- hustle: These quiet waters are a haven of peace and tranquility where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of twenty first century demands.
- prison: He is the prisoner who was beaten and yet escaped from the prison of evil.
Modifies a noun
Browse dictionary entries near escape
- ‹ escapade
- ‹ escallop
- ‹ escallonia
- ‹ escalator clause
- ‹ escalator
- ‹ escalation
- ‹ escalate
- ‹ escalade
- ‹ escadrille
- ‹ ESC
- escape artist ›
- escape mechanism ›
- escape velocity ›
- escaped ›
- escapee ›
- escapement ›
- escapism ›
- escapist ›
- escapologist ›
- escargot ›

