Skip to the word

Added 3 October 2026

escape

/ɪˈskeɪp/ verb

In Latin: fugio, evado, aufugio Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about escape at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To get free; to free oneself.
The prisoners escaped by jumping over a wall.
To break out of confinement.
The prisoners escaped their cell.
To avoid (any unpleasant person or thing); to elude, get away from.
He only got a fine and so escaped going to jail.

noun

The act of leaving a dangerous or unpleasant situation.
The prisoners made their escape by digging a tunnel.
Leakage or outflow, as of steam or a liquid, or an electric current through defective insulation.
Something that has escaped; an escapee.

Origin

From Middle English escapen, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French escaper ( = Old French eschaper, modern French échapper), from Vulgar Latin *excappāre (“to escape a garment, get out of one's clothing”, literally “to free oneself from one's cape”), from Latin ex- (“out”) + Late Latin cappa (“cape, cloak”). Cognate with escapade. Also doublet of scape.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word