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 …

—Mike Mansfield

transitive verb

: expand sense 2

escalation

ˌe-skə-ˈlā-shən 

nonstandard -skyə-

noun

escalatory

ˈe-skə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē 

nonstandard -skyə-

adjective

Synonyms of escalate

• increase
• rise
• accelerate
• swell
• expand

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

The exchange escalated quickly, with both benches and bullpens emptying. — Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026

Authorities widely refer to mass gatherings of unaccompanied young people — that sometimes escalate into chaos or violence — as teen takeovers. — Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 5 July 2026

Even as the court preserved birthright citizenship, Republicans escalated calls to restrict it through congressional action. — Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026

Gartner has predicted that more than 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by 2027 over escalating costs, unclear value or weak risk controls. — Janakiram Msv, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026

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

Rhymes for escalate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

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