escalate

verb

es·​ca·​late ˈe-skə-ˌlāt 

nonstandard

-skyə- 

escalated; escalating

intransitive verb

: to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope

a little war threatens to escalate into a huge ugly one

—Arnold Abrams

transitive verb

: expand sense 2

escalation

ˌe-skə-ˈlā-shən 

 nonstandard  -skyə-

noun

escalatory

ˈe-skə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē 

 nonstandard  -skyə-

adjective

Synonyms

• accelerate
• accumulate
• appreciate
• balloon
• boom
• build up
• burgeon
• bourgeon
• climb
• enlarge
• expand
• gain
• increase
• mount
• multiply
• mushroom
• proliferate
• rise
• roll up
• snowball
• spread
• swell
• wax

Examples of escalate in a Sentence

The conflict has escalated into an all-out war.

a time of escalating tensions

We are trying not to escalate the violence.

Salaries of leading executives have continued to escalate.

The cold weather has escalated fuel prices.

Recent Examples on the Web

All patent disputes that are escalated on the platforms are sent to this department. —Michael Benarde, Fortune, 10 May 2024

The rap war escalated to new heights, and three months later Shakur was shot to death in Las Vegas, with some wondering (though apparently incorrectly) whether the beef had anything to with it. —Mesfin Fekadu, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from escalator

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing escalate

• de-escalate
• re-escalate

Kids Definition

escalate

verb

es·​ca·​late ˈes-kə-ˌlāt 

escalated; escalating

: to increase in extent, volume, or scope : expand

escalate prices

escalation

ˌes-kə-ˈlā-shən 

noun