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

• increase
• rise
• accelerate
• swell
• expand
• intensify

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

Its price-to-sales ratio has escalated to 3x, rising from 1.2x in FY 2022. —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

His criticisms escalated into a public battle between the world's richest person and Mr. Trump. —Anne Marie D. Lee, CBS News, 1 July 2025

Tensions escalated on June 22, when the U.S. Military bombed three key nuclear sites in Iran, according to Trump administration officials. —Audrey Conklin, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2025

Tehran's shutdown came as part of its crackdown following escalating regional conflict, severing much of the country's digital communication with the outside world. —Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025

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
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

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