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

This year saw the arrival of a new escape room, and a thrilling mountain coaster, Mountain Mayhem, is slated to open this fall. —Taryn White, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

An escape room company that’s planning its entrance into Naperville near the new Block 59 development has received one green light so far — from the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. —Marie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2025

The restaurant shares its corner of Five Points with an escape room company, Woods Boss Brewing Co. and Denver Comedy Underground, a comedy club. —Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2025

The most alluring: an escape room decked out with hundreds of small yellow lights and old-school monitors, a beacon of hope for those who can make it inside. —Daron James, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2025

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