escape

- definition

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

verb

/ɪˈskeɪp/

present tense
I/you/we/they	escape
he/she/it	escapes
present participle	escaping
past tense	escaped
past participle	escaped

Related dictionary definitions

1
[intransitive] to get away from a place where you are in danger
Three people died in the fire, but John escaped through the bedroom window.
escape from:
His family escaped from Germany and arrived in Britain in 1938.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
1. a.
  [intransitive/transitive] to get away from a very unpleasant situation
  people trying to escape poverty
  escape from:
  She saw university as a way to escape from her oppressive home life.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
2. b.
  [intransitive] to get away from a place that you are not allowed to leave, for example a prison
  She was shot while trying to escape.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
3. c.
  [intransitive/transitive] to get away from an embarrassing or annoying situation
  Maggie started talking to me and I thought I’d never escape.
  escape someone’s clutches:
  He was trying to escape the clutches of two amorous young girls.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
2
[intransitive/transitive] to avoid being killed or seriously injured in an accident or attack
Two security guards escaped injury in the attack.
escape with:
Mr. Smith escaped with cuts and bruises.
escape unhurt/unharmed/unscathed:
Her two-week-old baby escaped unscathed.
escape with your life (=avoid being killed):
He was lucky to escape with his life.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
1. a.
  [transitive] to avoid a difficult or unpleasant situation
  The area has escaped the ravages of war.
  Hughes seems certain to escape punishment.
  narrowly escape:
  San Diego narrowly escaped defeat in their first game of the season.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
2. b.
  [intransitive/transitive] to avoid thinking about or dealing with an unpleasant situation that you are in
  escape from:
  The movies allowed people to escape from the depressing realities of their lives.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
3
[intransitive] to come out of a container, usually by accident
How will we know if there’s any gas escaping?
About five tons of crude oil had escaped into the ocean.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
1. a.
  literary to come out of your mouth, although you did not intend it to
  A weary sigh escaped from her lips.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
4
[transitive] if something escapes you, you cannot remember it or you do not notice it
His name escapes me right now.
It seems to have escaped him that I was the one who first introduced him to her.
escape your attention/notice:
It had not escaped my attention that Joseph was absent.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape
5
[intransitive] informal to go away on vacation
We’re hoping to escape to the coast in May.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape

phrase

there’s no escaping the fact that
used for saying that something is definitely true or important, even though you may prefer to think that it is not
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of escape

This is the American English definition of escape. View British English definition of escape.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

More BuzzWords

BuzzWord archive

Word of the Day

watchword

a word or phrase that expresses someone’s attitude or intention

Word of the Day

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

More submissions

view entries

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog

Did you know?