: providing a means of evading a regulation, claim, or commitment
an escape clause in a contract
Did you know?
If you were being held captive by someone gripping the coat or cloak you were wearing, you might be able to get away by slipping out of it. This is the idea on which the word escape is based. Escape is made up of the Latin prefix ex-, which means “out of,” and the Latin word cappa, which means “head covering” or “cloak.”
escape stresses the fact of getting away or being passed by not necessarily through effort or by conscious intent.
nothing escapes her sharp eyes
avoid stresses forethought and caution in keeping clear of danger or difficulty.
try to avoid past errors
evade implies adroitness, ingenuity, or lack of scruple in escaping or avoiding.
evaded the question by changing the subject
elude implies a slippery or baffling quality in the person or thing that escapes.
what she sees in him eludes me
shun often implies an avoiding as a matter of habitual practice or policy and may imply repugnance or abhorrence.
you have shunned your responsibilities
eschew implies an avoiding or abstaining from as unwise or distasteful.
a playwright who eschews melodrama
Example Sentences
Verb They managed to escape from the burning building. He needed a vacation to escape the routine of daily life. She moved to the city to escape the memory of her mother's death. trying to help people to escape poverty trying to help people to escape from poverty He succeeded in escaping punishment for many years. A few passengers somehow escaped injury. She barely escaped death when her car slid off the road. Several passengers escaped without injury. Noun The prisoners attempted a daring escape. He celebrated his escape from his boring job with a long vacation. She had a lucky escape when she wasn't injured in the accident. She managed to avoid serious injury, but it was a narrow escape. The door was locked; there was no escape. Gardening offered an escape from her busy life. an accidental escape of poisonous gases trying to prevent further escape of liquid See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
In one case, a good Samaritan knocked a handgun out of another would-be robber's hands in Washington Heights, Sliwa said, giving the victim a chance to escape.Fox News, 14 Sep. 2022 The blood found throughout the neighborhood—on sidewalks and at least one other neighboring house—further painted a harrowing picture of Murr’s desperate attempt to escape his murderers the night before. Alyssa Fiorentino, House Beautiful, 7 Sep. 2022 According to court documents, in an attempt to escape, McKinney drove over the curb and onto the sidewalk, crashing through the front window and wall of a business. Ayana Hamilton, The Arizona Republic, 3 Sep. 2022 For millions of Americans, President Joe Biden's student loan cancellation offers a life-changing chance to escape the burden of debt. Collin Binkley, ajc, 25 Aug. 2022 Fish near the surface would sometimes jump into the air in a desperate attempt to escape, but the dolphins were able to stay on target. Tom Metcalfe, NBC News, 17 Aug. 2022 Despite being boxed in, the teen driver began ramming the patrol cars in an attempt to escape, police say. Cliff Pinckard, cleveland, 17 Aug. 2022 With its jaw back open, that is your chance to escape. Jamiel Lynch, CNN, 16 Aug. 2022 The special occasion fell in the middle of a trip to Paris for fashion week, so the couple took the opportunity to escape to the South of France for a few days, sharing the trip on Beck's YouTube channel. Alex Gurley, Peoplemag, 15 Aug. 2022
Noun
And his saga — at least its first part — sanctifies the joy of escape as an act of redemptive moral rebellion. Darren Franich, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2022 The Trump supporters were suddenly corralled, with no avenue of escape. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2022 Thrilling narratives of escape from captivity during World War II are legion. Alex Kershaw, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 Here are five that fit the bill; several are also set in locales that add a sense of escape amid the drama. Karen Macpherson, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2022 Better to just let the little waves of intensity carry you from one conversation to the next, along with Alan’s evolving efforts at healing and inevitable contemplations of escape. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Aug. 2022 Labor Day weekend is when the last big rush of summer vacationers packs the roads and the skies, eager for an escape before school gets in full swing. Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 29 Aug. 2022 Jackson was taken to the California Institution for Women in Chino and could face charges for the escape, officials said. Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2022 Set in the Hotel Fontaine in New York City during Christmas, the holiday pic sees Georgia, played by Petsch, as a hotel manager who attracts eclectic guests looking for an escape from their everyday lives. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Aug. 2022
Adjective
One more benefit of recounting and recording your dreams is simply escape. David G. Allan, CNN, 4 Aug. 2022 Both works draw a line between the anti-escape devices used to control the enslaved and the subtler constraints on contemporary Black dissent. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 4 May 2022 If possible, collect the bat in an escape-proof container with air holes and take to a local veterinarian for euthanasia. Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, 8 Mar. 2022 On Wednesday, the 40-year-old stunt performer shared an update on his health after he was hospitalized last week following an escape act gone wrong at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where the show is being filmed. Karen Mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, 20 Oct. 2021 Authorities searched around Stevenson Park but could not locate Tidwell, who will face additional escape charges, the sheriff’s office said. Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 4 Dec. 2019 Another epic escape act seems improbable, but can't be ruled out if Di Francesco gets his tactics right in Rome. Stevens Griffiths, chicagotribune.com, 24 Apr. 2018 During his final three matches at the sectional, Skokna consistently employed a strategy of letting his opponent get escape points without trying to keep him down. Patrick Kelly, chicagotribune.com, 16 Feb. 2018 The Saturn 5, which flew 13 times, had an Earth-escape payload capacity of more than 100,000 pounds, about three times the capability of the Falcon Heavy. William Harwood, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2018 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English, from Anglo-French escaper, eschaper, from Vulgar Latin *excappare, from Latin ex- + Late Latin cappa head covering, cloak