to get free from a place, person, or situation that is holding or harming you
The prisoners escaped through a hidden tunnel during the night.
The cat escaped out the open window when no one was looking.
✦ From Latin ‘evadere’ meaning ‘to get out, avoid’, arriving in Middle English via Old French ‘eschapper’.
the act of getting free from a place or situation where you were trapped or in danger
Their daring escape was reported on every news channel.
The magician's handcuff escape amazed the audience.
to avoid something unpleasant, harmful, or undesirable happening to you
Luckily, the driver escaped injury in the crash.
The thief escaped detection by wearing a disguise.
(of a gas, liquid, sound, or information) to leak out or get out from somewhere
A faint hiss showed that steam was escaping from the valve.
Light escaped through the cracks in the wooden door.
an activity, place, or experience that helps you forget your problems and relax
Reading fantasy novels is her favorite escape after work.
Music became his only escape from loneliness.
(computing) the key on a keyboard that cancels a command or closes a dialog box
Press the Escape key to close the full-screen view.
Holding Ctrl and Escape opens the Start menu in Windows.
✦ Named for its original function in early computer terminals: sending an escape character to signal the end of a command sequence.
