escape

To escape is to break free, to get out of a situation you don’t want to be in. It’s also a noun, as in an escape from a dull party that might involve a ladder and an upstairs window.

It’s hard to pin down the word escape. An escape can be the act of escaping, like an escape from prison, but an escape can also be a calming retreat, like a vacation that gets you away from the stress of everyday life. As a verb, escape also means, "to fail to experience or know.” If the humor escapes you, you don't find the joke funny.

Primary Meanings of escape

1.
 vn
run away from confinement
the act of escaping physically
2.
 vn
fail to experience
an avoidance of danger or difficulty
3.
 vn
issue or leak, as from a small opening
the discharge of a fluid from some container
4.
 n
a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild
5.
 v
be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by
Full Definitions of escape
1

v run away from confinement

“The convicted murderer escaped from a high security prison”
Synonyms:
break loose, get away
Types:
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break, break away, break out
move away or escape suddenly
escape from, shake, shake off, throw off
get rid of
bilk, elude, evade
escape, either physically or mentally
slip
move smoothly and easily
run away
escape from the control of
get away
remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion
Type of:
flee, fly, take flight
run away quickly

v flee; take to one's heels; cut and run

“The burglars escaped before the police showed up”
Synonyms:
break away, bunk, fly the coop, head for the hills, hightail it, lam, run, run away, scarper, scat, take to the woods, turn tail
Types:
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flee, fly, take flight
run away quickly
skedaddle
run away, as if in a panic
break
make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing
stampede
run away in a stampede
abscond, absquatulate, bolt, decamp, go off, make off, run off
run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along
elope, run off
run away secretly with one's beloved
break loose, get away
run away from confinement
high-tail
retreat at full speed
defect, desert
desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army
Type of:
go away, go forth, leave
go away from a place

v remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion

“We escaped to our summer house for a few days”
Synonyms:
get away
Type of:
break loose, get away
run away from confinement

n the act of escaping physically

“he made his escape from the mental hospital”
“the canary escaped from its cage”
Synonyms:
flight
Examples:
Hegira
the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 which marked the beginning of the Muslim era; the Muslim calendar begins in that year
Underground Railroad
secret aid to escaping slaves that was provided by abolitionists in the years before the American Civil War
Types:
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evasion
the act of physically escaping from something (an opponent or a pursuer or an unpleasant situation) by some adroit maneuver
break, breakout, gaolbreak, jailbreak, prison-breaking, prisonbreak
an escape from jail
getaway, lam
a rapid escape (as by criminals)
exodus, hegira, hejira
a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment
skedaddle
a hasty flight
eluding, elusion, slip
the act of avoiding capture (especially by cunning)
evasive action, maneuver, manoeuvre
an action aimed at evading an opponent
dodge
a quick evasive movement
Type of:
running away
the act of leaving (without permission) the place you are expected to be

n a means or way of escaping

“hard work was his escape from worry”
“they installed a second hatch as an escape”
“their escape route”
Type of:
agency, means, way
how a result is obtained or an end is achieved

n an inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy

“romantic novels were her escape from the stress of daily life”
Synonyms:
escapism
Type of:
diversion, recreation
an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates
2

v fail to experience

Synonyms:
miss
Type of:
avoid
stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something

v escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action

Synonyms:
get away, get by, get off, get out
Types:
evade
use cunning or deceit to escape or avoid
Type of:
avoid
stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something

n an avoidance of danger or difficulty

“that was a narrow escape”
Type of:
avoidance, dodging, shunning, turning away
deliberately avoiding; keeping away from or preventing from happening

n nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do

“that escape from the consequences is possible but unattractive”
Synonyms:
dodging, evasion
Types:
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escape mechanism
a form of behavior that evades unpleasant realities
malingering, skulking
evading duty or work by pretending to be incapacitated
goldbricking, goofing off, shirking, slacking, soldiering
the evasion of work or duty
circumvention
the act of evading by going around
Type of:
carelessness, neglect, negligence, nonperformance
failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
3

v issue or leak, as from a small opening

“Gas escaped into the bedroom”
Type of:
come forth, come out, egress, emerge, go forth, issue
come out of

n the discharge of a fluid from some container

“they tried to stop the escape of gas from the damaged pipe”
Synonyms:
leak, leakage, outflow
Type of:
discharge, outpouring, run
the pouring forth of a fluid

n a valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler); it opens automatically when the pressure reaches a dangerous level

Synonyms:
escape cock, escape valve, relief valve, safety valve
Type of:
regulator
any of various controls or devices for regulating or controlling fluid flow, pressure, temperature, etc.
valve
control consisting of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid
4

n a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild

Type of:
flora, plant, plant life
(botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion
5

v be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by

Synonyms:
elude
Types:
defy, refuse, resist
elude, especially in a baffling way
beggar
be beyond the resources of
Type of:
amaze, baffle, beat, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, stick, stupefy, vex
be a mystery or bewildering to

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