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—
Arnold Abrams
Arnold AbramsExamples 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
Trump ramps up economic pressure on India, hails trade deal with Pakistan
India is under escalating economic pressure from the US, while its regional rival Pakistan hails closer ties with Washington.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 7 Aug. 2025
The same day Boulter spoke out, the Women’s Tennis Association released a season-wide report on online abuse its players received throughout the year, noting that 15 cases escalated to law enforcement investigations.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 6 Aug. 2025
The Manual Challenge Historically, managing paper records has required significant time and labor, leading to frequent delays, lost productivity, escalating administrative costs and quality issues.
—Ankit Kumar Agarwal, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
For lower-stakes check-ins and some positive reinforcement, that might not be such a bad thing and could even provide comfort to people before an issue escalates.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for escalate
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Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 7 Aug. 2025
The same day Boulter spoke out, the Women’s Tennis Association released a season-wide report on online abuse its players received throughout the year, noting that 15 cases escalated to law enforcement investigations.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 6 Aug. 2025
The Manual Challenge Historically, managing paper records has required significant time and labor, leading to frequent delays, lost productivity, escalating administrative costs and quality issues.
—Ankit Kumar Agarwal, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
For lower-stakes check-ins and some positive reinforcement, that might not be such a bad thing and could even provide comfort to people before an issue escalates.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for escalate
Cite this Entry
“Escalate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/escalate. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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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