escapade

noun

es·​ca·​pade ˈe-skə-ˌpād 

: a usually adventurous action that runs counter to approved or conventional conduct

Did you know?

When it was first used in English, escapade referred to an act of escaping or fleeing from confinement or restraint. The relationship between escape and escapade does not end there. Both words derive from the Vulgar Latin verb excappare, meaning "to escape," a product of the Latin prefix ex- and the Late Latin noun cappa, meaning "head covering or cloak." While escape took its route through Anglo-French and Middle English, however, escapade made its way into English by way of the Spanish escapar ("to escape") and the French escapade.

Synonyms of escapade

• prank
• adventure
• trick
• experience

Examples of escapade in a Sentence

As a teenager he embarked on a series of ill-advised escapades.

their escapades at the prep school became the stuff of boarding-school legend

Recent Examples on the Web

The show is also virtually devoid of romantic escapades, a good thing since Dumas’ novel is filled with a lot of sentimental claptrap about fighting for defenseless women’s honor or seducing virtuous maidens or going to war due to the physical beauty of a monarch. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026

Even if the titular exclamation point wasn’t taken straight from the theater musical, it’d be earned via the film’s consistently entertaining escapades. —Rachel Simon, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026

Was his Sam Altman gaming-PC escapade similar? —Sam Kriss, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026

Michael said that shortly after Allocca fell, the teens with him posted videos of their near-fatal escapade to a closed Instagram group in which they could be seen fleeing the bridge with the victim’s phone. —Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, action of escaping, from Spanish escapada, from escapar to escape, from Vulgar Latin *excappare

First Known Use

1667, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for escapade

• accolade
• ambuscade
• antegrade
• balustrade
• barricade
• cannonade
• cavalcade
• centigrade
• chambermaid
• colonnade
• countertrade
• disobeyed

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Kids Definition

escapade

noun

es·​ca·​pade ˈes-kə-ˌpād 

: a mischievous adventure