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escape

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To avoid; to elude, get away from.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihskayp

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪsˈkeɪp

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To avoid (any unpleasant person or thing); to elude, get away from.

  2. intransitive

    To avoid capture; to get away with something, avoid punishment.

  3. intransitive

    To get free; to free oneself.

  4. transitive

    To elude the observation or notice of; to not be seen or remembered by.

noun

  1. The act of leaving a dangerous or unpleasant situation.

  2. A holiday, viewed as time away from the vicissitudes of life.

  3. Leakage or outflow, as of steam or a liquid, or an electric current through defective insulation.

  4. Something that has escaped; an escapee.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To avoid (any unpleasant person or thing); to elude, get away from.

Used this way, escape is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Slightly negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Critical or judgemental
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use escape

  • “He made his escape from the mental hospital.”noun
  • “Romantic novels were her escape from the stress of daily life.”noun
  • “We escaped to our summer house for a few days.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

escape routeescape through

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • escape valvenounCompound term

    A valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler).

  • escape velocitynounCompound term

    The minimum velocity needed to escape a gravitational field.

  • escape wheelnounCompound term

    Gear that engages a rocking lever.

  • escape mechanismnounCompound term

    A form of behavior that evades unpleasant realities.

  • escape hatchnounCompound term

    Hatchway that provides a means of escape in an emergency.

  • escape fromverbCompound term

    Get rid of.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to avoid (any unpleasant person or thing)

break loose

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.