escape hatch

noun

1

: a hatch providing an emergency exit from an enclosed space

2

: a means of evading a difficulty, dilemma, or responsibility

Examples of escape hatch in a Sentence

the escape hatch of a submarine

Recent Examples on the Web

Oil prices are rising after the United States conducted an 11th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets and Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to disrupt a crucial escape hatch for Saudi Arabia’s oil exports. — Arpita Dasika, CNN Money, 22 July 2026

Absent that political will, AI has been floated as a fiscal escape hatch. — Tristan Bove, Fortune, 2 July 2026

Meanwhile, a second team of intrepid lumberjacks will pull the bottle tree up by its roots, opening an escape hatch above the pit. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

In that sense, this listing is part trophy, part escape hatch. — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 4 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for escape hatch

• attach
• bycatch
• despatch
• detach
• dispatch
• mismatch
• nuthatch
• potlatch
• bache
• batch
• brach
• catch