- 1 [countable, uncountable] escape (from something) the act or a method of escaping from a place or an unpleasant or dangerous situation an escape from a prisoner of war camp I had a narrow escape (= I was lucky to have escaped). There was no hope of escape from her disastrous marriage. He took an elaborate escape route from South Africa to Britain. As soon as he turned his back, she would make her escape. see also fire escape Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveattempted, successful, great, … verb + escapemake, make good, plan, … escape + nounattempt, bid, route, … prepositionescape from phrasesa means of escape, a way of escape, a possibility of escape, … See full entry
- 2 [singular, uncountable] a way of forgetting something unpleasant or difficult for a short time For her, travel was an escape from the boredom of her everyday life. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveclose, narrow, near, … verb + escapehave, plan, plot, … prepositionescape from See full entry
- 3[countable] the fact of a liquid, gas, etc. coming out of a pipe or container by accident; the amount that comes out an escape of gas
- 4[uncountable] (also escape key [countable]) (computing) a button on a computer keyboard that you press to stop a particular operation or leave a program Press escape to get back to the menu. Wordfinderkeyboardbackspace, click, control, cursor, escape, keyboard, return, shift, slash, space bar See related entries: Using a computer Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French eschaper, based on medieval Latin ex- ‘out’ + cappa ‘cloak’. Compare with escapade.Extra examples A driver had a lucky escape after a brick was dropped on his car from an overhead bridge. Celine has been plotting her escape for months. Craig finds escape in dreams. For many, the ultimate escape is a tranquil beach filled with white sand. He had a narrow escape from gunfire. He made his escape through the window. He stepped in front of me, blocking my escape. I found an open door and made good my escape. I made a hasty escape. She looked around for a means of escape. The ground became swamped, allowing no escape. There was clearly no possibility of escape. This play offered an escape from the everyday. Together they formulated an escape plan. a group of slaves that attempted an escape city dwellers seeking escape from stress his escape from the prison camp one of the greatest escapes of all time the daring escape of a Resistance fighter from prison young people’s need for temporary escape from the demanding journey into adulthood As soon as he turned his back, she would make her escape.Idioms
close, lock, etc. the stable door after the horse has bolted (British English) (US English close, etc. the barn door after the horse has escaped) jump to other results
(formal) to manage to escape completely He made good his escape from a crowd of journalists by jumping over a barrier.
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