escape

[ ih-skeyp ]

/ ɪˈskeɪp /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR escape ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), es·caped, es·cap·ing.

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), es·caped, es·cap·ing.

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.

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) Computers. Escape key.

adjective

for or providing an escape: an escape route.

Origin of escape

1250–1300; Middle English escapen, ascapen < Old North French escaper (French échapper) < Vulgar Latin *excappāre, verbal derivative (with ex- ex-¹) of Late Latin cappa hooded cloak (see cap¹)

synonym study for escape

7. 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 WORDS FROM escape

es·cap·a·ble, adjective es·cape·less, adjective es·cap·er, noun es·cap·ing·ly, adverb

pre·es·cape, noun, verb (used without object), pre·es·caped, pre·es·cap·ing. self-es·cape, noun un·es·cap·a·ble, adjective un·es·cap·a·bly, adverb un·es·caped, adjective

Words nearby escape

escallop, escalope, escambia, escanaba, escapade, escape, escape artist, escape beat, escape clause, escape hatch, escape key

Definition for escape (2 of 2)

Escape key

or escape key

noun

a key (frequently labeled Esc) found on most computer keyboards and used for any of various functions, as to interrupt or cancel the current process or running program, or to close a pop-up window.

Also called Escape, Esc key.

Example sentences from the Web for escape

After the captain made the call to abandon ship, 150 people were able to escape on lifeboats lowered by electronic arms.

‘We’re Going to Die’: Survivors Recount Greek Ferry Fire Horror |Barbie Latza Nadeau |December 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The irony did not escape one local, Laith Hathim, as he stood and watched the newly minted refugees make their way into Mosul.

Has the Kurdish Victory at Sinjar Turned the Tide of ISIS War? |Niqash |December 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Cubans are cursed whether they find a means of escape or remain.

The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind |Brin-Jonathan Butler |December 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He wants to know every external detail, even if the escape is ultimately to be shot on a sound stage.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days |David Freeman |December 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Then when we arrive at his flat in Shepherd's Bush following the escape, perhaps there ought to be remnants of the ladder.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days |David Freeman |December 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
We cannot escape this tremendous solidarity of the human race.

Maids Wives and Bachelors |Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
I was looking for Aryaka, in all the excitement about his escape from prison.

The Little Clay Cart |(Attributed To) King Shudraka
Cuchillo fearing that his victim might escape him, now wished more than ever that he should join the expedition.

Wood Rangers |Mayne Reid
But Ransom was no fool and, stepping back out of the way of temptation, he allowed him to escape without further parley.

The Chief Legatee |Anna Katharine Green
If you escape, and I fall—Fanny—my father, he will take care of her,—you remember—thanks!

Night and Morning, Complete |Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for escape

escape

/ (ɪˈskeɪp) /

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

(intr usually foll by from) (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

Derived forms of escape

escapable, adjective escaper, noun

Word Origin for escape

C14: from Old Northern French escaper, from Vulgar Latin excappāre (unattested) to escape (literally: to remove one's cloak, hence free oneself), from ex- 1 + Late Latin cappa cloak

Medical definitions for escape

escape

[ ĭ-skāp′ ]

n.

A gradual effusion from an enclosure; a leakage.

A cardiological situation in which one pacemaker defaults or an atrioventricular conduction fails, and another pacemaker sets the heart's pace for one or more beats.

Idioms and Phrases with escape

escape

In addition to the idiom beginning with escape

escape notice

also see:

narrow escape

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

escape

verb (used without object), es·caped, es·cap·ing.

verb (used with object), es·caped, es·cap·ing.

noun

adjective

Origin of escape

synonym study for escape

OTHER WORDS FROM escape

Words nearby escape

Definition for escape (2 of 2)

or escape key

noun

Example sentences from the Web for escape

British Dictionary definitions for escape

verb

noun

Derived forms of escape

Word Origin for escape

Medical definitions for escape

n.

Idioms and Phrases with escape

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

escape

verb (used without object), es·caped, es·cap·ing.

verb (used with object), es·caped, es·cap·ing.

noun

adjective

Origin of escape

synonym study for escape

OTHER WORDS FROM escape

Words nearby escape

Definition for escape (2 of 2)

or escape key

noun

Words related to escape

Example sentences from the Web for escape

British Dictionary definitions for escape

verb

noun

Derived forms of escape

Word Origin for escape

Medical definitions for escape

n.

Idioms and Phrases with escape