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Meaning of escape in English
Pronunciation
/əˈskeɪp/
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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.
fail to experience
Examples
« Fortunately, I missed the hurricane »
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.
be incomprehensible to
Examples
« escape understanding by »
« What you are seeing in him eludes me »
5.
issue or leak, as from a small opening
Examples
« Gas escaped into the bedroom »
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.
flee
Examples
« take to one's heels »
« cut and run »
« If you see this man, run! »
« The burglars escaped before the police showed up »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
6.
an avoidance of danger or difficulty
Examples
« that was a narrow escape »
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 »
8.
a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild