Escape

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: es=cape

CIDE DICTIONARY

Escape, v. t. [OE. escapen, eschapen, OF. escaper, eschaper, F. echapper, fr. LL. ex cappa out of one's cape or cloak; hence, to slip out of one's cape and escape. See 3d Cape, and cf. Scape, v.].

•  To flee from and avoid; to be saved or exempt from; to shun; to obtain security from; as, to escape danger.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  To avoid the notice of; to pass unobserved by; to evade; as, the fact escaped our attention.  [1913 Webster]

  "They escaped the search of the enemy."  [1913 Webster]

Escape, v. i. 

•  To flee, and become secure from danger; -- often followed by from or out of.  [1913 Webster]

  "Haste, for thy life escape, nor look behind"  [1913 Webster]
•  To get clear from danger or evil of any form; to be passed without harm.  [1913 Webster]

  "Such heretics . . . would have been thought fortunate, if they escaped with life."  [1913 Webster]
•  To get free from that which confines or holds; -- used of persons or things; as, to escape from prison, from arrest, or from slavery; gas escapes from the pipes; electricity escapes from its conductors.  [1913 Webster]

  "To escape out of these meshes."  [1913 Webster]

Escape, n. 

•  The act of fleeing from danger, of evading harm, or of avoiding notice; deliverance from injury or any evil; flight; as, an escape in battle; a narrow escape; also, the means of escape; as, a fire escape.  [1913 Webster]

  "I would hasten my escape from the windy storm."  [1913 Webster]
•  That which escapes attention or restraint; a mistake; an oversight; also, transgression.  [1913 Webster]

  "I should have been more accurate, and corrected all those former escapes."  [1913 Webster]
•  A sally.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  The unlawful permission, by a jailer or other custodian, of a prisoner's departure from custody.  [1913 Webster]
•  A plant which has escaped from cultivation.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

  " Escape is technically distinguishable from prison breach, which is the unlawful departure of the prisoner from custody, escape being the permission of the departure by the custodian, either by connivance or negligence. The term escape, however, is applied by some of the old authorities to a departure from custody by stratagem, or without force."  Wharton.  [1913 Webster]
•  An apophyge.  [1913 Webster]
•  Leakage or outflow, as of steam or a liquid.  [1913 Webster]
•  Leakage or loss of currents from the conducting wires, caused by defective insulation.  [1913 Webster]

Escape pipe (Steam Boilers), a pipe for carrying away steam that escapes through a safety valve. -- Escape valve (Steam Engine), a relief valve; a safety valve. See under Relief, and Safety. -- Escape wheel (Horol.), the wheel of an escapement.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Escape, v. & n.
--v.
1 intr. (often foll. by from) get free of the restriction or control of a place, person, etc.
2 intr. (of a gas, liquid, etc.) leak from a container or pipe etc.
3 intr. succeed in avoiding danger, punishment, etc.; get off safely.
4 tr. get completely free of (a person, grasp, etc.).
5 tr. avoid or elude (a commitment, danger, etc.).
6 tr. elude the notice or memory of (nothing escapes you; the name escaped me).
7 tr. (of words etc.) issue unawares from (a person, a person's lips).
--n.
1 the act or an instance of escaping; avoidance of danger, injury, etc.
2 the state of having escaped (was a narrow escape).
3 a means of escaping (often attrib. : escape hatch).
4 a leakage of gas etc.
5 a temporary relief from reality or worry.
6 a garden plant running wild.

Idiom

escape clause Law a clause specifying the conditions under which a contracting party is free from an obligation. escape road a road for a vehicle to turn into if unable to negotiate a bend, descent, etc., safely (esp. on a racetrack). escape velocity the minimum velocity needed to escape from the gravitational field of a body. escape wheel a toothed wheel in the escapement of a watch or clock.

Derivative

escapable adj. escaper n.

Etymology

ME f. AF, ONF escaper ult. f. med.L (as EX-(1), cappa cloak)

THESAURUS

Escape

abandonment, abscond, alienation, autism, autistic thinking, avenue, avoid, avoidance, avoidance mechanism, avoiding reaction, baffle, bail out, beg, blame-shifting, blow, blowhole, bolt, bow out, break, break away, break free, break jail, break loose, break out, breakout, bunk, channel, chute, circumvent, circumvention, clear out, compensation, cut and run, cut loose, cut out, debouch, decamp, decampment, decompensation, defense mechanism, deliverance, depart, departure, dereism, dereistic thinking, disappear, discharge, displacement, dissociation, distraction, ditch, diversion, dodge, dodging, door, double, drain, drainage, draining, duck, duck out, ducking, effluence, efflux, effluxion, egress, elope, elude, elusion, elusiveness, emanate, emotional insulation, emunctory, equivocation, escape into fantasy, escape mechanism, escape prison, escapism, eschewal, estuary, evacuation, evade, evasion, evasive action, evasiveness, exhaust, exit, exodus, fantasizing, fantasy, flee, flight, flit, floodgate, flume, fly, fly the coop, forbearance, forestalling, forestallment, get around, get away, get away from, get clear of, get free, get free of, get out, get out of, get quit of, get rid of, getaway, getting around, go on furlough, go on leave, going, hegira, isolation, issue, jailbreak, jink, jump, lam, leak, leakage, leaking, leave the scene, leaving, levant, liberation, loophole, make a getaway, make off, mosey, mystify, negativism, neutrality, nonintervention, noninvolvement, opening, out, outcome, outfall, outflow, outgate, outgo, outlet, outpouring, overcompensation, parting, passing, pore, port, prevention, projection, psychotaxis, puzzle, rationalization, recreation, refraining, release, relief, removal, resistance, retirement, retreat, run away, run off, runaround, sally port, scape, scram, seep, seepage, seeping, shake, shake off, shuffle out of, shunning, shunting off, shy, sidestep, sidestepping, sidetracking, skedaddle, skip, skirt, slip, slip away, slip off, slip out, slip the collar, sluice, sneak out, sociological adjustive reactions, spiracle, spout, stump, sublimation, substitution, take French leave, take leave, take off, tap, the runaround, throw off, vamoose, vanish, vent, ventage, venthole, vomitory, walkout, way out, weir, wish-fulfillment fantasy, wishful thinking, withdrawal, zigzag

ROGET THESAURUS

Escape

Avoidance

N avoidance, abstention, abstinence, for bearance, refraining, inaction, neutrality, avoidance, evasion, elusion, seclusion, avolation, flight, escape, retreat, recoil, departure, rejection, shirker, truant, fugitive, refugee, runaway, runagate, maroon, unsought, unattempted, avoiding, neutral, shy of, elusive, evasive, fugitive, runaway, shy, wild, Adj, lest, in order to avoid, Int, forbear!, keep off, hands off!, sauve qui peut!, every man for himself!, devil take the hindmost!, things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.

VB abstain, refrain, spare, not attempt, not do, maintain the even tenor of one's way, eschew, keep from, let alone, have nothing to do with, keep aloof keep off, stand aloof, stand off, hold aloof, hold off, take no part in, have no hand in, avoid, shun, steer clear of, keep clear of, fight shy of, keep one's distance, keep at a respectful distance, keep out of the way, get out of the way, evade, elude, turn away from, set one's face against, deny oneself, shrink back, hang back, hold back, draw back, recoil, retire, flinch, blink, blench, shy, shirk, dodge, parry, make way for, give place to, beat a retreat, turn tail, turn one's back, take to one's heels, runaway, run for one's life, cut and run, be off like a shot, fly, flee, fly away, flee away, run away from, take flight, take to flight, desert, elope, make off, scamper off, sneak off, shuffle off, sheer off, break away, tear oneself away, slip away, slink away, steel away, make away from, scamper away from, sneak away from, shuffle away from, sheer away from, slip cable, part company, turn one's heel, sneak out of, play truant, give one the go by, give leg bail, take French leave, slope, decamp, flit, bolt, abscond, levant, skedaddle, absquatulat, cut one's stick, walk one's chalks, show a light pair of heels, make oneself scarce, escape, go away, abandon, reject, lead one a dance, lead one a pretty dance, throw off the scent, play at hide and seek, Adj, unsought, unattempted, avoiding, neutral, shy of, elusive, evasive, fugitive, runaway, shy, wild.

Safety

N safety, security, surety, impregnability, invulnerability, invulnerableness, danger past, danger over, storm blown over, coast clear, escape, means of escape, blow valve, safety valve, release valve, sniffing valve, safeguard, palladium, guardianship, wardship, wardenship, tutelage, custody, safekeeping, preservation, protection, auspices, safe-conduct, escort, convoy, guard, shield, guardian angel, tutelary god, tutelary deity, tutelary saint, genius loci, protector, guardian, warden, warder, preserver, custodian, duenna, chaperon, third person, watchdog, bandog, Cerberus, watchman, patrolman, policeman, cop, dick, fuzz, smokey, peeler, zarp, sentinel, sentry, scout, garrison, guardship, refuge &c, anchor, precaution, quarantine, cordon sanitaire, confidence, protect, take care of, preserve, cover, screen, shelter, shroud, flank, ward, guard, secure, entrench, intrench, fence round, house, nestle, ensconce, take charge of, escort, convoy, garrison, watch, mount guard, patrol, make assurance doubly sure, take up a loose thread, take precautions, double reef topsails, seek safety, take shelter, find shelter, Adj, safe, secure, sure, in safety, in security, on the safe side, under the shield of, under the shade of, under the wing of, under the shadow of one's wing, under cover, under lock and key, out of danger, out of the woods, out of the meshes, out of harm's way, unharmed, unscathed, on sure ground, at anchor, high and dry, above water, unthreatened, unmolested, protected, cavendo tutus, panoplied, snug, seaworthy, weatherproof, waterproof, fireproof, defensible, tenable, proof against, invulnerable, unassailable, unattackable, impenetrable, impregnable, imperdible, inexpugnable, Achillean, safe and sound, scathless, unhazarded, not dangerous, unthreatening, harmless, friendly (cooperative), protecting, protective, guardian, tutelary, preservative, trustworthy, ex abundanti cautela, with impunity, all's well, salva res est, suave mari magno, a couvert, e terra alterius spectare laborem, Dieu vous garde.

VB be safe, keep one's head above water, tide over, save one's bacon, ride out the storm, weather the storm, light upon one's feet, land on one's feet, bear a charmed life, escape, make safe, render safe Adj, protect, take care of, preserve, cover, screen, shelter, shroud, flank, ward, guard, secure, entrench, intrench, fence round, house, nestle, ensconce, take charge of, escort, convoy, garrison, watch, mount guard, patrol, make assurance doubly sure, take up a loose thread, take precautions, double reef topsails, seek safety, take shelter, find shelter.

Escape

N escape, scape, avolation, elopement, flight, evasion, retreat, narrow escape, hairbreadth escape, close call, come off, impunity, loophole, path, refuse, vent, vent peg, safety valve, drawbridge, fire escape, reprieve, liberation, refugee, escaping, escaped, stolen away, fled, the bird has flown the coop.

VB escape, scape, make one's escape, effect one's escape, make good one's escape, break jail, get off, get clear off, get well out of, echapper belle, save one's bacon, save one's skin, weather the storm, escape scot-free, elude &c, make off, march off, give one the slip, slip through the hands, slip through the fingers, slip the collar, wriggle out of prison, break out, break loose, break loose from prison, break away, slip away, get away, find vent, find a hole to creep out of, disappear, vanish.

Liberation

N liberation, disengagement, release, enlargement, emancipation, disenthrallment, disenthralment, affranchisement, enfranchisement, manumission, discharge, dismissal, deliverance, redemption, extrication, acquittance, absolution, acquittal, escape, liberated, out of harness, Int, unhand me!, let me go!.

VB liberate, free, set free, set clear, set at liberty, render free, emancipate, release, enfranchise, affranchise, manumit, enlarge, disband, discharge, disenthrall, disenthral, dismiss, let go, let loose, loose, let out, let slip, cast adrift, turn adrift, deliver, absolve, unfetter &c, untie, loose, loosen, relax, unbolt, unbar, unclose, uncork, unclog, unhand, unbind, unchain, unharness, unleash, disengage, disentangle, clear, extricate, unloose, gain one's liberty, obtain one's liberty, acquire one's liberty, get rid of, get clear of, deliver oneself from, shake off the yoke, slip the collar, break loose, break prison, tear asunder one's bonds, cast off trammels, escape.

Dereliction of Duty

VB violate, break, break through, infringe, set aside, set at naught, encroach upon, trench upon, trample on, trample under foot, slight, neglect, evade, renounce, forswear, repudiate, wash one's hands of, escape, transgress, fail, call to account.

Egress

VB emerge, emanate, issue, egress, go out of, come out of, move out of, pass out of, pour out of, flow out of, pass out of, evacuate, exude, transude, leak, run through, out through, percolate, transcolate, egurgitate, strain, distill, perspire, sweat, drain, ooze, filter, filtrate, dribble, gush, spout, flow out, well, well out, pour, trickle, effuse, extravasate, disembogue, discharge itself, debouch, come forth, break forth, burst out, burst through, find vent, escape.