# escape

/ɪˈskeɪp/ (US) · /ɛskˈeɪp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/escape
Updated: 2026-07-22

## Senses

### 1. to get free

verb · CEFR B1

to get away from a place where you are being held, like a prison or a cage.

For teachers: to break free from confinement or control. Intransitive in its primary physical sense.

- The tiger managed to escape from its enclosure during the storm.
- Several prisoners attempted to escape through a ventilation shaft, but they were apprehended before reaching the outer perimeter.

### 2. to avoid something

verb · CEFR B1

to avoid a dangerous or unpleasant situation.

For teachers: to elude or avoid an undesirable outcome or person. Transitive, taking the avoided entity as a direct object.

- She was lucky to escape the car accident without any injuries.
- The company narrowly escaped bankruptcy by securing a last-minute loan from a private equity firm.

### 3. to be forgotten

verb · CEFR B2

when you cannot remember a name or a fact at the moment you need it.

For teachers: to elude the memory or notice of someone. The subject is typically the forgotten information, and the object is the person.

- I know her face well, but her name escapes me right now.
- The subtle nuances of the contract seemed to escape the junior lawyer's attention during the initial review.

### 4. computing

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to tell a computer to treat a special character as a normal letter.

For teachers: to use a specific character to signal that the following character should be interpreted literally rather than as a command.

- You need to escape the quote marks in your code so it doesn't crash.
- The developer had to escape the backslash characters within the string to ensure the file path was parsed correctly by the operating system.

Usage: Usually involves prefixing a character with a backslash.

### 5. act of getting free

noun · CEFR B1

the act of getting away from a dangerous or bad situation.

For teachers: the act or an instance of breaking free from confinement or danger.

- The hikers made a narrow escape when the forest fire started.
- The daring escape from the high-security facility became the lead story on every national news network that evening.

### 6. relaxation

noun · CEFR B2

a way to forget about your problems or your busy life for a while.

For teachers: a distraction or diversion from reality or routine. Often used in the context of entertainment or travel.

- Reading science fiction is a great escape from my stressful job.
- For many city dwellers, a weekend in the mountains provides a necessary escape from the relentless pace of urban life.

### 7. leakage

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

when a gas or liquid accidentally flows out of a container.

For teachers: the physical leakage or outflow of a substance from a container or system.

- The technicians detected a small escape of gas from the main pipe.
- The safety valve is designed to allow the controlled escape of steam if the internal pressure exceeds a specific threshold.

## Examples

- The prisoner made a daring escape through the window.
- Many people find that gardening provides a perfect escape from the stress of their daily office jobs.
- The architect included a secondary stairwell to ensure a rapid escape in the event of a fire, while also serving as a discreet service entrance.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.