Meaning of escape in English

  1. Pronunciation

    /əˈskeɪp/

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  1. Verb

    escape

    Etymology

    Middle English: from Old French eschaper, based on medieval Latin ex-‘out’ + cappa‘cloak’. Compare with escapade

    Definitions

    1. run away from confinement

    Examples

    • « The convicted murderer escaped from a high security prison »
  2. 2. fail to experience

    Examples

    • « Fortunately, I missed the hurricane »
  3. 3. escape potentially unpleasant consequences

    Examples

    • « get away with a forbidden action »
    • « She gets away with murder! »
    • « I couldn't get out from under these responsibilities »
  4. 4. be incomprehensible to

    Examples

    • « escape understanding by »
    • « What you are seeing in him eludes me »
  5. 5. issue or leak, as from a small opening

    Examples

    • « Gas escaped into the bedroom »
  6. 6. remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion

    Examples

    • « We escaped to our summer house for a few days »
    • « The president of the company never manages to get away during the summer »
  7. 7. flee

    Examples

    • « take to one's heels »
    • « cut and run »
    • « If you see this man, run! »
    • « The burglars escaped before the police showed up »

  8. Noun

    escape

    Definitions

    1. the act of escaping physically

    Examples

    • « he made his escape from the mental hospital »
    • « the canary escaped from its cage »
    • « his flight was an indication of his guilt »
  9. 2. an inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy

    Examples

    • « romantic novels were her escape from the stress of daily life »
    • « his alcohol problem was a form of escapism »
  10. 3. the unwanted discharge of a fluid from some container

    Examples

    • « they tried to stop the escape of gas from the damaged pipe »
    • « he had to clean up the leak »
  11. 4. a valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler)

    Examples

    • « it opens automatically when the pressure reaches a dangerous level »
  12. 5. nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do

    Examples

    • « his evasion of his clear duty was reprehensible »
    • « that escape from the consequences is possible but unattractive »
  13. 6. an avoidance of danger or difficulty

    Examples

    • « that was a narrow escape »
  14. 7. a means or way of escaping

    Examples

    • « hard work was his escape from worry »
    • « they installed a second hatch as an escape »
    • « their escape route »
  15. 8. a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild