What does "escape" mean?
The act of leaving a dangerous or unpleasant situation.
Escape
/ɪˈskeɪp/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of leaving a dangerous or unpleasant situation.
- Grammar: escape is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: break loose, evasion, flight, leak.
- Useful contrasts: earthbounding, predatory action, capture.
- Usage evidence: Have you ever had a narrow escape?
How to use "escape"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "escape" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "escape" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "escape" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "escape" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "escape" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "break loose" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "escape", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of leaving a dangerous or unpleasant situation. countable, uncountable
"The prisoners made their escape by digging a tunnel."
- 2 the act of escaping physically wordnet
- 3 Leakage or outflow, as of steam or a liquid, or an electric current through defective insulation. countable, uncountable
- 4 a means or way of escaping wordnet
- 5 Something that has escaped; an escapee. countable, uncountable
"But what about the flocks of Waxbills? Are they escapes gone feral, or are they spreading from Africa?"
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 an avoidance of danger or difficulty wordnet
- 7 A holiday, viewed as time away from the vicissitudes of life. countable, uncountable
- 8 an inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy wordnet
- 9 escape key countable, uncountable
- 10 nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do wordnet
- 11 The text character represented by 27 (decimal) or 1B (hexadecimal). countable, uncountable
"You forgot to insert an escape in the datastream."
- 12 a valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler); it opens automatically when the pressure reaches a dangerous level wordnet
- 13 A successful shot from a snooker position. countable, uncountable
- 14 the discharge of a fluid from some container wordnet
- 15 A defective product that is allowed to leave a manufacturing facility. countable, uncountable
- 16 a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild wordnet
- 17 That which escapes attention or restraint; a mistake, oversight, or transgression. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"I should have been more accurate, corrected all those former escapes."
- 18 A sally. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"thousand escapes of wit"
- 19 An apophyge. countable, uncountable
- 20 A cultivated plant found growing as though wild, dispersed by some agency. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To get free; to free oneself. intransitive
"The prisoners escaped by jumping over a wall."
- 2 issue or leak, as from a small opening wordnet
- 3 To avoid (any unpleasant person or thing); to elude, get away from. transitive
"He only got a fine and so escaped going to jail."
- 4 fail to experience wordnet
- 5 To avoid capture; to get away with something, avoid punishment. intransitive
"Luckily, I escaped with only a fine."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action wordnet
- 7 To elude the observation or notice of; to not be seen or remembered by. transitive
"The name of the hotel escapes me at present."
- 8 run away from confinement wordnet
- 9 To cause (a single character, or all such characters in a string) to be interpreted literally, instead of with any special meaning it would usually have in the same context, often by prefixing with another character. transitive
"When using the "bash" shell, you can escape the ampersand character with a backslash."
- 10 flee; take to one's heels; cut and run wordnet
- 11 To halt a program or command by pressing a key (such as the "Esc" key) or combination of keys.
- 12 remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion wordnet
- 13 be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Have you ever had a narrow escape?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "escape"?
Common synonyms include: break loose, evasion, flight, leak, abandonment, abscond.
How do you use "escape" in a sentence?
Have you ever had a narrow escape?
How do you pronounce "escape"?
Pronounced /ɪˈskeɪp/.
Etymology
From Middle English escapen, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French escaper ( = Old French eschaper, modern French échapper), from Vulgar Latin *excappāre (“to escape a garment, get out of one's clothing”, literally “to free oneself from one's cape”), from Latin ex- (“out”) + Late Latin cappa (“cape, cloak”). Cognate with escapade. Also doublet of scape.