escape - Dictionary definition and pronunciation

es·cape

(

-sk

) KEY

VERB:
es·caped , es·cap·ing , es·capes
VERB:
intr.

To break loose from confinement; get free: escape from jail.
To issue from confinement or an enclosure; leak or seep out: Gas was escaping from the vent.
To avoid a serious or unwanted outcome: escaped from the accident with their lives.
Botany To become established in the wild. Used of a cultivated species.
Computer Science To interrupt a command, exit a program, or change levels within a program by using a key, combination of keys, or key sequence.

VERB:
tr.

To succeed in avoiding: The thief escaped punishment.
To break loose from; get free of: The spacecraft escaped Earth's gravitational field.
To elude the memory or comprehension of: Her name escapes me. The book's significance escaped him.
To issue involuntarily from: A sigh escaped my lips.

NOUN:

The act or an instance of escaping.
A means of escaping.
A means of obtaining temporary freedom from worry, care, or unpleasantness: Television is my escape from worry.
A gradual effusion from an enclosure; a leakage.
Botany A plant that has become established away from the area of cultivation.
Computer Science A key, combination of keys, or key sequence, used especially to interrupt a command, exit a program, or change levels within a program.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English escapen, from Old North French escaper, from Vulgar Latin *excappre, to get out of one's cape, get away : Latin ex-, ex- + Medieval Latin cappa, cloak

OTHER FORMS:
es·capa·ble (Adjective), es·caper (Noun)

SYNONYMS:
escape , avoid , shun , eschew , evade , elude

These verbs mean to get or stay away from persons or things. Escape can mean to get free or to remain untouched or unaffected by something unwanted: "Let no guilty man escape, if it can be avoided" (Ulysses S. Grant). Avoid always involves an effort to keep away from what is considered to be a source of danger or difficulty: avoiding strenuous exercise. Shun refers to deliberately keeping clear of what is unwelcome or undesirable: "Family friends ... she shunned like the plague" (John Galsworthy). Eschew involves staying clear of something because to do otherwise would be unwise or morally wrong: "Eschew evil, and do good" (Book of Common Prayer). Evade implies adroit maneuvering and sometimes implies dishonesty or irresponsibility: tried to evade jury duty. To elude is to get away from artfully: eluded their pursuers.
Usage Note:
Traditionally, escape is used with from when it means "break loose" and with a direct object when it means "avoid." Thus we might say The forger escaped from prison by hiding in a laundry truck, but The forger escaped prison when he turned in his accomplices in order to get a suspended sentence. In recent years, however, escape has been used with a direct object in the sense "break free of": The spacecraft will acquire sufficient velocity to escape the sun's gravitational attraction. This usage is well established and should be regarded as standard.

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Definition of escape