D defs.my
Menu ☰
Entry 13 senses · 3 variants Webster, 1913

Escape

/ĭs-kāp'/ · Es·cape · IPA /ɪˈskeɪp/
01 v. t. To flee from and avoid; to be saved or exempt from; to shun; to obtain security from; as, to escape danger.
imp. & p. p. Escaped; p. pr. & vb. n. Escaping
  1. 1.
    To flee from and avoid; to be saved or exempt from; to shun; to obtain security from; as, to escape danger.
  2. 2.
    To avoid the notice of; to pass unobserved by; to evade; as, the fact escaped our attention.
    “They escaped the search of the enemy.” — Ludlow.
02 v. i. To flee, and become secure from danger; -- often followed by from or out of.
  1. 1.
    To flee, and become secure from danger; -- often followed by from or out of.
    “Haste, for thy life escape, nor look behind��” — Keble.
  2. 2.
    To get clear from danger or evil of any form; to be passed without harm.
    “Such heretics . . . would have been thought fortunate, if they escaped with life.” — Macaulay.
  3. 3.
    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.
    “To escape out of these meshes.” — Thackeray.
03 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 battl…
  1. 1.
    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.
    “I would hasten my escape from the windy storm.” — Ps. lv. 8.
  2. 2.
    That which escapes attention or restraint; a mistake; an oversight; also, transgression.[Obs.]
    “I should have been more accurate, and corrected all those former escapes.” — Burton.
  3. 3.
    A sally.
  4. 4.
    The unlawful permission, by a jailer or other custodian, of a prisoner's departure from custody.(Law)
  5. 5.
    A plant which has escaped from cultivation.(Bot.)
  6. 6.
    An apophyge.(Arch.)
  7. 7.
    Leakage or outflow, as of steam or a liquid.
  8. 8.
    Leakage or loss of currents from the conducting wires, caused by defective insulation.(Elec.)
Phrases & compounds
Escape pipe — a pipe for carrying away steam that escapes through a safety valve.
Escape valve — a relief valve; a safety valve. See under Relief, and Safety.
Escape wheel — the wheel of an escapement.