escapement

noun

es·​cape·​ment i-ˈskāp-mənt 

1

a

: a device in a timepiece which controls the motion of the train of wheelwork and through which the energy of the power source is delivered to the pendulum or balance by means of impulses that permit a tooth to escape from a pallet at regular intervals

b

: a ratchet device (such as the spacing mechanism of a typewriter) that permits motion in one direction only in equal steps

2

a

: the act of escaping

b

: a way of escape : vent

Illustration of escapement

• escapement 1a

Examples of escapement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Constructed with a silicon escapement and hairspring, the automatic movement offers a 72-hour power reserve and runs at a frequency of 18,000 vph. —Matthew Catellier, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025

And, indeed, in the decades since their previous calculations, the escapement rate had plummeted; the number of redfish harvested, meanwhile, had dropped to the lowest numbers recorded since the 1980s. —Boyce Upholt, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2025

At 6 o’clock, the flying tourbillon beats away with a silicon escapement for added resistance to magnetic fields and temperature swings. —Matthew Catellier, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025

The boutique’s location in Silicon Valley allows the watch brand to boast about its use of silicon for the escapement of the first Freak timepiece in 2001 and for nearly all their watches since. —Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined at sense 1a