escape

verb es·cape \ i-ˈskāp , e- , dialectal ik-ˈskāp \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

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Examples: escape in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of escape

escaped; escaping

intransitive verb

1 a : to get away (as by flight)

escaped from prison

b : to issue from confinement

gas is escaping

c of a plant : to run wild from cultivation

2 : to avoid a threatening evil

the boat sank but the crew escaped

transitive verb

1 : to get free of : break away from

escape the jungle

escape the solar system

2 : to get or stay out of the way of : avoid

efforts to escape poverty

3 : to fail to be noticed or recallable by

his name escapes me

4 a : to issue from

a smile escaped me

b : to be uttered involuntarily by

a sigh of relief escaped her

—

escaper

noun

See escape defined for English-language learners

See escape defined for kids

Examples of escape in a Sentence

They managed to escape from the burning building.
He needed a vacation to escape the routine of daily life.
She moved to the city to escape the memory of her mother's death.
trying to help people to escape poverty
trying to help people to escape from poverty
He succeeded in escaping punishment for many years.
A few passengers somehow escaped injury.
She barely escaped death when her car slid off the road.
Several passengers escaped without injury.

Recent Examples of escape from the Web

Vaughn’s 12-year-old brother ran for his life and escaped unharmed.

— alexia fernandez, PEOPLE.com, "Boy, 13, Killed & His Mother & Brother Left Fighting for Their Lives In Alleged Road Rage Shooting," 16 June 2018
Cielsielczyk and fellow Animal Control Officer Kristi Woolard are the ones that end up dealing with dangerous or vicious animals but thus far have mostly escaped injury.

— mike danahey, Elgin Courier-News, "Pack of stray dogs that attacked couple on Elgin trail a first for cops in at least 14 years, officers say," 16 June 2018
For the first run, Haydon Burke struck out, but reached base when the ball escaped the catcher’s grasp.

— wright wilson, Detroit Free Press, "Matthew Silka pitches one-hitter as Gabriel Richard wins Division 3 title," 16 June 2018
The man escaped with dozens of cellphones, and nearly a month has passed since the robbery.

— fleming smith, ajc, "Police seeking armed robbery suspect who stole 37 cellphones from AT&T store," 15 June 2018
The resident’s two dogs escaped on their own and were caught by a neighbor, a fire official said.

— pauline repard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Arson investigators seek help learning cause of Bonsall house fire," 15 June 2018
Their wild, provocative sound and Jake Shears's story of escaping his religious family to travel to New York City resonated with me like nothing had before.

— kt hawbaker, Chicago Reader, "What were you watching, reading, or listening to when you first came out?," 15 June 2018
What would have happened: A lengthy review finds no conclusive evidence that Rooney actually made contact with Carvalho’s groin and the England striker escapes with a yellow card.

— joshua robinson, WSJ, "The ‘Hand of God’ Delusion: World Cup History on Further Review," 14 June 2018
Danny ended up escaping with his mother Wendy (Shelley Duvall).

— bryan alexander, USA TODAY, "Here's Danny! Ewan McGregor to play Jack Nicholson's grown son in 'The Shining' sequel," 13 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'escape.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

If you were being held captive by someone gripping the coat or cloak you were wearing, you might be able to get away by slipping out of it. This is the idea on which the word escape is based. Escape is made up of the Latin prefix ex-, which means “out of,” and the Latin word cappa, which means “head covering” or “cloak.”

Origin and Etymology of escape

Middle English, from Anglo-French escaper, eschaper, from Vulgar Latin *excappare, from Latin ex- + Late Latin cappa head covering, cloak

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First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

escape Synonyms

Phrases

fight shy of, keep clear of, stay clear of, steer clear of;

Synonym Discussion of escape

escape, avoid, evade, elude, shun, eschew mean to get away or keep away from something. escape stresses the fact of getting away or being passed by not necessarily through effort or by conscious intent.

- nothing escapes her sharp eyes

avoid stresses forethought and caution in keeping clear of danger or difficulty.

- try to avoid past errors

evade implies adroitness, ingenuity, or lack of scruple in escaping or avoiding.

- evaded the question by changing the subject

elude implies a slippery or baffling quality in the person or thing that escapes.

- what she sees in him eludes me

shun often implies an avoiding as a matter of habitual practice or policy and may imply repugnance or abhorrence.

- you have shunned your responsibilities

eschew implies an avoiding or abstaining from as unwise or distasteful.

- a playwright who eschews melodrama

escape

noun

Definition of escape

1 : an act or instance of escaping: such as

a : flight from confinement

b : evasion of something undesirable

c : leakage or outflow especially of a fluid

d : distraction or relief from routine or reality

2 : a means of escape

3 : a cultivated plant run wild

4 or less commonly Escape : escape key

See escape defined for English-language learners

Examples of escape in a Sentence

The prisoners attempted a daring escape.
He celebrated his escape from his boring job with a long vacation.
She had a lucky escape when she wasn't injured in the accident.
She managed to avoid serious injury, but it was a narrow escape.
The door was locked; there was no escape.
Gardening offered an escape from her busy life.
an accidental escape of poisonous gases
trying to prevent further escape of liquid

Recent Examples of escape from the Web

Sanchez has been charged with conspiracy and assisting with an escape, according to a news release from Bernalillo County.

— madison park, CNN, "Wrong inmate released from New Mexico detention center," 12 June 2018
And if an immediate escape isn't feasible, rangers suggest kicking or striking the bear's muzzle and face with whatever object is at hand.

— jared gilmour, miamiherald, "Bear circled and swatted his beagle. Owner punched the bear in the nose, Michigan cops say," 29 May 2018
The following month Delmar was accused of engineering an escape from the women's wing of the parish prison in which five inmates sawed through cell bars with hacksaws, then escaped over a 35-foot wall using bedsheets tied together.

— hanna krueger, NOLA.com, "See which Starbucks stores are closing Tuesday afternoon for bias training," 28 May 2018
On some level, Anne might have seen death as an escape from the shame and misery of Henry’s wrath.

— anne thériault, Longreads, "Queens of Infamy: Anne Boleyn," 25 May 2018
The evil cabal’s Nicholas Keynes, Carol Preston and Emma Whitmore escape in the Mothership to whereabouts unknown.

— rachel kaufman, Smithsonian, "Somebody’s Got a Case of the Blues: Timeless Season 2, Episode 6, Recapped," 23 Apr. 2018
And national parks weren’t especially welcoming, either; many were created as an escape from urban sprawl, at a time when urban was shorthand for blacks and immigrants.

— latria graham, Outside Online, "We're Here. You Just Don't See Us.," 10 Apr. 2018
An escape from the first chill of fall, a summer night of stargazing — there are endless reasons to gather around a fire pit. Pour some drinks, open a bag of marshmallows and create lasting memories.

— debbie swanson, USA TODAY, "Spice up your backyard with a cool DIY fire pit," 1 Apr. 2018
The characters in High Maintenance smoke pot for a lot of reasons, including fun, escape, creativity and chemotherapy relief.

— anna menta, Newsweek, "Why You Should Binge HBO's ‘High Maintenance,' The Most Addictive Stoner Show On TV," 7 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of escape

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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escape Synonyms

Synonyms

break, breakout, flight, getaway, lam, rout, slip;

Near Antonyms

captivity, confinement, immurement, imprisonment, incarceration, internment;

custody, detention, hold, holding, retention;

endangerment, hazard, imperilment, jeopardy, peril, risk, trouble;

Related Words

jailbreak;

deliverance, liberation, redemption, release, rescue, salvation;

close call, close shave, near miss;

escape

adjective

Definition of escape

1 : providing a means of escape

escape literature

2 : providing a means of evading a regulation, claim, or commitment

an escape clause in a contract

Recent Examples of escape from the Web

Another epic escape act seems improbable, but can't be ruled out if Di Francesco gets his tactics right in Rome.

— stevens griffiths, chicagotribune.com, "Three things we learned from Liverpool v Roma," 24 Apr. 2018
During his final three matches at the sectional, Skokna consistently employed a strategy of letting his opponent get escape points without trying to keep him down.

— patrick kelly, chicagotribune.com, "Extra work helps pair of Hinsdale Central wrestlers reach state," 16 Feb. 2018
The Saturn 5, which flew 13 times, had an Earth-escape payload capacity of more than 100,000 pounds, about three times the capability of the Falcon Heavy.

— william harwood, CBS News, "SpaceX prepares for dramatic Falcon Heavy launch," 4 Feb. 2018
There are already escape room businesses in Aurora, Naperville, McHenry, St. Charles, Schaumburg, Wheaton, quite a few other suburbs and in Chicago.

— mike danahey, Elgin Courier-News, "Escape room opens in downtown Elgin," 25 July 2017

First Known Use of escape

1817

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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ESCAPE Defined for English Language Learners

escape

verb

Definition of escape for English Language Learners

: to get away from a place (such as a prison) where you are being held or kept
: to get away from a dangerous place or situation
: to get away from something that is difficult or unpleasant

escape

noun

Definition of escape for English Language Learners

: an act of escaping from a place, situation, etc.
: a way of escaping from a place, situation, etc.
: an occurrence in which an amount of liquid or gas passes out through a hole or crack in a container

ESCAPE Defined for Kids

escape

verb es·cape \ i-ˈskāp \

Definition of escape for Students

escaped; escaping

1 : to get away : get free or clear

Everyone escaped from the burning building.

2 : to keep free of : avoid

She managed to escape injury.

3 : to fail to be noticed or remembered by

The name escapes me.

4 : to leak out

Gas is escaping from the tank.

History for escape

Picture a person who is held by a cape or cloak. The person may be able to slip out of the garment and so escape from the captor. The word escape is based on such a picture. The word escape came from an Old French verb escaper or eschaper. This word in turn came ultimately from the Latin words ex, “out of,” and cappa, “head covering, cloak.”

escape

noun

Definition of escape for Students

1 : the act of getting away

a narrow escape

2 : a way of getting away

… there was no escape except up the cliff.
—Jack London, The Call of the Wild

Medical Dictionary

escape

verb es·cape \ is-ˈkāp \

medical Definition of escape

escaped; escaping

intransitive verb

: to avoid or find relief from something by means of an escape

transitive verb

: to avoid or find relief from (something) by means of an escape

he was unable to escape reality

escape

noun

medical Definition of escape

: an act or instance of escaping: as

a : evasion of something undesirable

find no method of escape from pain and suffering

b : distraction or relief from routine or reality; especially : mental distraction or relief by flight into idealizing fantasy or fiction that serves to glorify the self