Adjacent Words

Escape definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ESCA'PE, v.t. [L. capio, with a negative prefix, or from a word of the same family.]
1. To flee from and avoid; to get out of the way; to shun; to obtain security from; to pass without harm; as, to escape danger.
A small number, that escape the sword, shall return. Jeremiah 44.
Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1.
2. To pass unobserved; to evade; as, the fact escaped my notice or observation.
3. To avoid the danger of; as, to escape the sea. Acts 28.
Note. This verb is properly intransitive, and in strictness should be followed by from; but usage sanctions the omission of it.
ESCA'PE, v.i. To flee, shun and be secure from danger; to avoid an evil.
Escape for thy life to the mountains. Genesis 19.
1. To be passed without harm. The balls whistled by me, my comrades fell, but I escaped.
ESCA'PE, n. Flight to shun danger or injury; the act of fleeing from danger.
I would hasten my escape from the windy storm. Psalms 55.
1. A being passed without receiving injury, as when danger comes near a person, but passes by, and the person is passive. Every soldier who survives a battle has had such an escape.
2. Excuse; subterfuge; evasion.
3. In law, an evasion of legal restraint or the custody of the sheriff, without due course of law. Escapes are voluntary or involuntary; voluntary, when an officer permits an offender or debtor to quit his custody, without warrant; and involuntary, or negligent, when an arrested person quits the custody of the officer against his will, and is not pursued forthwith and retaken before the pursuer hath lost sight of him.
4. Sally; flight; irregularity. [Little used.]
5. Oversight; mistake. [Little used, or improper.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the act of escaping physically; "he made his escape from the mental hospital"; "the canary escaped from its cage"; "his flight was an indication of his guilt" [syn: escape, flight]
2: an inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy; "romantic novels were her escape from the stress of daily life"; "his alcohol problem was a form of escapism" [syn: escape, escapism]
3: nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do; "his evasion of his clear duty was reprehensible"; "that escape from the consequences is possible but unattractive" [syn: evasion, escape, dodging]
4: an avoidance of danger or difficulty; "that was a narrow escape"
5: a means or way of escaping; "hard work was his escape from worry"; "they installed a second hatch as an escape"; "their escape route"
6: a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild
7: the discharge of a fluid from some container; "they tried to stop the escape of gas from the damaged pipe"; "he had to clean up the leak" [syn: escape, leak, leakage, outflow]
8: 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 [syn: safety valve, relief valve, escape valve, escape cock, escape] v
1: run away from confinement; "The convicted murderer escaped from a high security prison" [syn: escape, get away, break loose]
2: fail to experience; "Fortunately, I missed the hurricane" [syn: miss, escape]
3: escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action; "She gets away with murder!"; "I couldn't get out from under these responsibilities" [syn: get off, get away, get by, get out, escape]
4: be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by; "What you are seeing in him eludes me" [syn: elude, escape]
5: remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion; "We escaped to our summer house for a few days"; "The president of the company never manages to get away during the summer" [syn: escape, get away]
6: flee; take to one's heels; cut and run; "If you see this man, run!"; "The burglars escaped before the police showed up" [syn: scat, run, scarper, turn tail, lam, run away, hightail it, bunk, head for the hills, take to the woods, escape, fly the coop, break away]
7: issue or leak, as from a small opening; "Gas escaped into the bedroom"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (escaped; escaping) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French escaper, eschaper, from Vulgar Latin *excappare, from Latin ex- + Late Latin cappa head covering, cloak Date: 13th century intransitive verb 1. a. to get away (as by flight) <escaped from prison> b. to issue from confinement <gas is escaping> c. of a plant to run wild from cultivation 2. to avoid a threatening evil <the boat sank but the crew escaped> transitive verb 1. to get free of ; break away from <escape the jungle> <escape the solar system> 2. to get or stay out of the way of ; avoid <efforts to escape poverty> 3. to fail to be noticed or recallable by <his name escapes me> 4. a. to issue from <a smile escaped me> b. to be uttered involuntarily by <a sigh of relief escaped her> • escaper noun Synonyms: escape, avoid, evade, elude, shun, eschew mean to get away or keep away from something. 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>. II. noun Date: 14th century 1. an act or instance of escaping: as a. flight from confinement b. evasion of something undesirable c. leakage or outflow especially of a fluid d. distraction or relief from routine or reality 2. a means of escape 3. a cultivated plant run wild III. adjective Date: 1817 1. providing a means of escape <escape literature> 2. providing a means of evading a regulation, claim, or commitment <an escape clause in a contract>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. (often foll. by from) get free of the restriction or control of a place, person, etc. 2 intr. (of a gas, liquid, etc.) leak from a container or pipe etc. 3 intr. succeed in avoiding danger, punishment, etc.; get off safely. 4 tr. get completely free of (a person, grasp, etc.). 5 tr. avoid or elude (a commitment, danger, etc.). 6 tr. elude the notice or memory of (nothing escapes you; the name escaped me). 7 tr. (of words etc.) issue unawares from (a person, a person's lips). --n. 1 the act or an instance of escaping; avoidance of danger, injury, etc. 2 the state of having escaped (was a narrow escape). 3 a means of escaping (often attrib. : escape hatch). 4 a leakage of gas etc. 5 a temporary relief from reality or worry. 6 a garden plant running wild. Phrases and idioms: escape clause Law a clause specifying the conditions under which a contracting party is free from an obligation. escape road a road for a vehicle to turn into if unable to negotiate a bend, descent, etc., safely (esp. on a racetrack). escape velocity the minimum velocity needed to escape from the gravitational field of a body. escape wheel a toothed wheel in the escapement of a watch or clock. Derivatives: escapable adj. escaper n. Etymology: ME f. AF, ONF escaper ult. f. med.L (as EX-(1), cappa cloak)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Escape Es*cape", n. (Bot.) A plant which has escaped from cultivation.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Escape Es*cape", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Escaped; p. pr. & vb. n. Escaping.] [OE. escapen, eschapen, OF. escaper, eschaper, F. echapper, fr. LL. ex cappa out of one's cape or cloak; hence, to slip out of one's cape and escape. See 3d Cape, and cf. Scape, v.] 1. To flee from and avoid; to be saved or exempt from; to shun; to obtain security from; as, to escape danger. ``Sailors that escaped the wreck.'' --Shak. 2. To avoid the notice of; to pass unobserved by; to evade; as, the fact escaped our attention. They escaped the search of the enemy. --Ludlow.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Escape Es*cape", v. i. 1. To flee, and become secure from danger; -- often followed by from or out of. Haste, for thy life escape, nor look behind?? --Keble. 2. To get clear from danger or evil of any form; to be passed without harm. Such heretics . . . would have been thought fortunate, if they escaped with life. --Macaulay. 3. To get free from that which confines or holds; -- used of persons or things; as, to escape from prison, from arrest, or from slavery; gas escapes from the pipes; electricity escapes from its conductors. To escape out of these meshes. --Thackeray.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Escape Es*cape", n. 1. The act of fleeing from danger, of evading harm, or of avoiding notice; deliverance from injury or any evil; flight; as, an escape in battle; a narrow escape; also, the means of escape; as, a fire escape. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm. --Ps. lv. 8. 2. That which escapes attention or restraint; a mistake; an oversight; also, transgression. [Obs.] I should have been more accurate, and corrected all those former escapes. --Burton. 3. A sally. ``Thousand escapes of wit.'' --Shak. 4. (Law) The unlawful permission, by a jailer or other custodian, of a prisoner's departure from custody. Note: Escape is technically distinguishable from prison breach, which is the unlawful departure of the prisoner from custody, escape being the permission of the departure by the custodian, either by connivance or negligence. The term escape, however, is applied by some of the old authorities to a departure from custody by stratagem, or without force. --Wharton. 5. (Arch.) An apophyge. 6. Leakage or outflow, as of steam or a liquid. 7. (Elec.) Leakage or loss of currents from the conducting wires, caused by defective insulation. Escape pipe (Steam Boilers), a pipe for carrying away steam that escapes through a safety valve. Escape valve (Steam Engine), a relief valve; a safety valve. See under Relief, and Safety. Escape wheel (Horol.), the wheel of an escapement.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(escapes, escaping, escaped) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you escape from a place, you succeed in getting away from it. A prisoner has escaped from a jail in northern England... They are reported to have escaped to the other side of the border... He was fatally wounded as he tried to escape. VERB: no passive, V from n, V to n, V • escaped Officers mistook Stephen for an escaped prisoner. ADJ 2. Someone's escape is the act of escaping from a particular place or situation. The man made his escape. N-COUNT: usu poss N 3. You can say that you escape when you survive something such as an accident. The two officers were extremely lucky to escape serious injury... The man's girlfriend managed to escape unhurt... He narrowly escaped with his life when suspected right-wing extremists fired shots into his office. VERB: V n, V adj, V prep • Escape is also a noun. I hear you had a very narrow escape on the bridge. N-COUNT 4. If something is an escape, it is a way of avoiding difficulties or responsibilities. But for me television is an escape. ...an escape from the depressing realities of wartime. N-COUNT: usu sing 5. You can use escape to describe things which allow you to avoid difficulties or problems. For example, an escape route is an activity or opportunity that lets you improve your situation. An escape clause is part of an agreement that allows you to avoid having to do something that you do not want to do. We all need the occasional escape route from the boring, routine aspects of our lives... This has, in fact, turned out to be a wonderful escape clause for dishonest employers everywhere. ADJ: ADJ n 6. If something escapes you or escapes your attention, you do not know about it, do not remember it, or do not notice it. It was an actor whose name escapes me for the moment... VERB: V n 7. When gas, liquid, or heat escapes, it comes out from a pipe, container, or place. Leave a vent open to let some moist air escape. VERB: V 8. see also fire escape

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Avoid, shun, evade, elude, flee from, get out of the way of. 2. Pass unobserved. II. v. n. 1. Get away, make or effect one's escape, get free, get into safety, get away safely, get off or through without harm. 2. Flee, fly, abscond, decamp, make off, steal away, hasten away, slink away, run away, break loose, break away, gain one's freedom, whip off, take one's self off, beat a retreat, take to one's heels, cut and run, take French leave, be among the missing. 3. Slip, pass, go by, slip through the fingers, be passed over, be omitted. 4. Pass out, off, or away, be emitted. III. n. 1. Flight. 2. Release (from threatened danger). 3. Passing, passage, running or passing out or off.

Moby Thesaurus

abandonment, abscond, alienation, autism, autistic thinking, avenue, avoid, avoidance, avoidance mechanism, avoiding reaction, baffle, bail out, beg, blame-shifting, blow, blowhole, bolt, bow out, break, break away, break free, break jail, break loose, break out, breakout, bunk, channel, chute, circumvent, circumvention, clear out, compensation, cut and run, cut loose, cut out, debouch, decamp, decampment, decompensation, defense mechanism, deliverance, depart, departure, dereism, dereistic thinking, disappear, discharge, displacement, dissociation, distraction, ditch, diversion, dodge, dodging, door, double, drain, drainage, draining, duck, duck out, ducking, effluence, efflux, effluxion, egress, elope, elude, elusion, elusiveness, emanate, emotional insulation, emunctory, equivocation, escape into fantasy, escape mechanism, escape prison, escapism, eschewal, estuary, evacuation, evade, evasion, evasive action, evasiveness, exhaust, exit, exodus, fantasizing, fantasy, flee, flight, flit, floodgate, flume, fly, fly the coop, forbearance, forestalling, forestallment, get around, get away, get away from, get clear of, get free, get free of, get out, get out of, get quit of, get rid of, getaway, getting around, go on furlough, go on leave, going, hegira, isolation, issue, jailbreak, jink, jump, lam, leak, leakage, leaking, leave the scene, leaving, levant, liberation, loophole, make a getaway, make off, mosey, mystify, negativism, neutrality, nonintervention, noninvolvement, opening, out, outcome, outfall, outflow, outgate, outgo, outlet, outpouring, overcompensation, parting, passing, pore, port, prevention, projection, psychotaxis, puzzle, rationalization, recreation, refraining, release, relief, removal, resistance, retirement, retreat, run away, run off, runaround, sally port, scape, scram, seep, seepage, seeping, shake, shake off, shuffle out of, shunning, shunting off, shy, sidestep, sidestepping, sidetracking, skedaddle, skip, skirt, slip, slip away, slip off, slip out, slip the collar, sluice, sneak out, sociological adjustive reactions, spiracle, spout, stump, sublimation, substitution, take French leave, take leave, take off, tap, the runaround, throw off, vamoose, vanish, vent, ventage, venthole, vomitory, walkout, way out, weir, wish-fulfillment fantasy, wishful thinking, withdrawal, zigzag