noun
- The act of escaping physically.
- usage: "he made his escape from the mental hospital"; "the canary escaped from its cage"; "his flight was an indication of his guilt"
- synonyms: flight
- An inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy.
- usage: "romantic novels were her escape from the stress of daily life"; "his alcohol problem was a form of escapism"
- synonyms: escapism
- Nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do.
- usage: "his evasion of his clear duty was reprehensible"; "that escape from the consequences is possible but unattractive"
- An avoidance of danger or difficulty.
- usage: "that was a narrow escape"
- A means or way of escaping.
- usage: "hard work was his escape from worry"; "they installed a second hatch as an escape"; "their escape route"
- A plant originally cultivated but now growing wild.
- The discharge of a fluid from some container.
- usage: "they tried to stop the escape of gas from the damaged pipe"; "he had to clean up the leak"
- 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: safety valve, relief valve, escape valve, escape cock
verb
- Run away from confinement.
- usage: "The convicted murderer escaped from a high security prison"
- synonyms: get away, break loose
- Fail to experience.
- usage: "Fortunately, I missed the hurricane"
- synonyms: miss
- Escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action.
- usage: "She gets away with murder"; "I couldn't get out from under these responsibilities"
- Be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by.
- usage: "What you are seeing in him eludes me"
- synonyms: elude
- Remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion.
- usage: "We escaped to our summer house for a few days"; "The president of the company never manages to get away during the summer"
- synonyms: get away
- Flee; take to one's heels; cut and run.
- usage: "If you see this man, run"; "The burglars escaped before the police showed up"
- synonyms: scat, run, scarper, turn tail, lam, run away, hightail it, bunk, head for the hills, take to the woods, fly the coop, break away
- Issue or leak, as from a small opening.
- usage: "Gas escaped into the bedroom"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). escape. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/escape/definitions/1188799 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "escape" http://smartdefine.org/escape/definitions/1188799 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, escape, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/escape/definitions/1188799>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "escape" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/escape/definitions/1188799> |