escape room

noun

plural escape rooms

: a game in which participants confined to a room or other enclosed setting (such as a prison cell) are given a set amount of time to find a way to escape (as by discovering hidden clues and solving a series of riddles or puzzles)

Escape rooms are a game where a group of friends or co-workers get locked into a space to play some puzzles, so they can all win the reward of leaving the room slightly early.

—Nick Douglas

One of the most interesting fusions of digital culture with an older form—in this case, theater—is the escape room, which locks people behind a closed door and asks them to find a way out.

—Chris Suellentrop

also : a place or business where this game is played

This is The Lock Boxx, a new mobile escape room based out of San Luis Obispo County. Customers are "locked" inside the trailer until they can solve the appropriate puzzles and break free.

—Jarod Urrutia

Examples of escape room in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Bawah Survivor programme has a beginner-level escape room/scavenger hunt up to an advanced level, where guests can overnight in the open on the outer islands. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026

In the meantime, money spent on hitting Six Flags or Long Island’s Adventureland on the weekend is what’s getting cut from the budget in favor of cheaper activities like escape rooms and zoos. —HubSpot, 1 June 2026

Production designer Danny Vermette created these escape rooms, which align to the dark spirit of director Jonathan Glazer, Tod Browning and, of course, Lynch and Stephen King, the landscape of purgatory-like nightmares. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 28 May 2026

Try activities that require new strategies rather than repetition of familiar ones, like escape rooms or murder mystery events/parties. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2012, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for escape room

• anteroom
• assume
• backroom
• ballroom
• barroom
• bathroom
• bedroom
• boardroom
• bridegroom
• classroom
• cloakroom
• consume

Kids Definition

escape room

noun

: a game in which players confined to a room attempt to escape by discovering hidden clues and solving puzzles or riddles