escape meaning and definition

ESCAPE noun

Definition of escape (noun)

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"
   • synonyms: 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"
   • synonyms: 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"
   • synonyms: dodging, evasion
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"
   • synonyms: 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
   • synonyms: escape cock, escape valve, relief valve, safety valve

ESCAPE verb

Definition of escape (verb)

1. run away from confinement
   • "The convicted murderer escaped from a high security prison"
   • synonyms: break loose, get away
2. fail to experience
   • "Fortunately, I missed the hurricane"
   • synonyms: miss
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"
   • synonyms: get away, get by, get off, get out
4. be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by
   • "What you are seeing in him eludes me"
   • synonyms: elude
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"
   • synonyms: 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"
   • 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
7. issue or leak, as from a small opening
   • "Gas escaped into the bedroom"