escalate
verb
es·ca·late
ˈe-skə-ˌlāt 
nonstandard
-skyə-
escalated; escalating
: to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope
… a little war threatens to escalate into a huge ugly one …—
Mike Mansfield
Mike MansfieldExamples 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
After several years of higher operating costs and softer consumer demand, gas prices are climbing as the war with Iran escalates.
—Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 5 Mar. 2026
The proposal comes as conflict in the Middle East escalates and tensions over Taiwan persist, amid a broader rise in global geopolitical fault lines.
—Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026
The conflict escalated last week with Afghanistan launching attacks on Thursday in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous weekend.
—Suzan Fraser and Munir Ahmed The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Mar. 2026
According to court filings cited by CBS News, his family claims Gemini encouraged delusional thinking, escalated emotional dependency, and ultimately pushed him toward suicide.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for escalate
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Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 5 Mar. 2026
The proposal comes as conflict in the Middle East escalates and tensions over Taiwan persist, amid a broader rise in global geopolitical fault lines.
—Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026
The conflict escalated last week with Afghanistan launching attacks on Thursday in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous weekend.
—Suzan Fraser and Munir Ahmed The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Mar. 2026
According to court filings cited by CBS News, his family claims Gemini encouraged delusional thinking, escalated emotional dependency, and ultimately pushed him toward suicide.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for escalate
Cite this Entry
“Escalate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/escalate. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
escalate
verb
es·ca·late
ˈes-kə-ˌlāt
escalated; escalating
: to increase in extent, volume, or scope : expand
escalate prices
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