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
But, inside the Tahoe, the agents felt the situation was escalating.
—Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
Orbán, who is trailing Tisza in most polls, has in recent weeks escalated an aggressive anti-Ukraine campaign ahead of the election.
—Justin Spike The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 11 Mar. 2026
Iran has previously threatened to close the passage if the conflict escalates further.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 11 Mar. 2026
The fight occurred Sunday afternoon in popular shopping district Santana Row and reportedly escalated from a verbal altercation that may have involved suspects hurling antisemitic language, the San Jose Police Department (SJPD) said.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for escalate
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Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
Orbán, who is trailing Tisza in most polls, has in recent weeks escalated an aggressive anti-Ukraine campaign ahead of the election.
—Justin Spike The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 11 Mar. 2026
Iran has previously threatened to close the passage if the conflict escalates further.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 11 Mar. 2026
The fight occurred Sunday afternoon in popular shopping district Santana Row and reportedly escalated from a verbal altercation that may have involved suspects hurling antisemitic language, the San Jose Police Department (SJPD) said.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 11 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 12 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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