es·cape (ĭ-skāṕ)

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[Middle English escapen, from Old North French escaper, from Vulgar Latin* excappāre, to get out of one's cape, get away, Latin ex-, ex-, + Medieval Latin cappa, cloak.]

verb: -caped, -cap·ing, -capes. 

intransitive verb 

1. To break loose from confinement; get free: escape from jail.
2. To issue from confinement or an enclosure; leak or seep out: Gas was escaping from the vent.
3. To avoid a serious or unwanted outcome: escaped from the accident with their lives.
4. Botany To become established in the wild. Used of a cultivated species.
5. 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.

transitive verb 

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

noun 

1. The act or an instance of escaping.
2. A means of escaping.
3. A means of obtaining temporary freedom from worry, care, or unpleasantness: Television is my escape from worry.
4. A gradual effusion from an enclosure; a leakage.
5. Botany A plant that has become established away from the area of cultivation.
6. 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.

derivatives

es·caṕa·ble

adjective

es·caṕer

noun

usage note

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.

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.