escape

== English == === Etymology === 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. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪˈskeɪp/, (proscribed) /ɪk-/ (General American) IPA(key): /ɪˈskeɪp/, /ə-/, /ɛ-/, (proscribed) /ɛk-/ Hyphenation: es‧cape Rhymes: -eɪp === Verb === escape (third-person singular simple present escapes, present participle escaping, simple past and past participle escaped) (intransitive) To get free; to free oneself. (transitive) To avoid (any unpleasant person or thing); to elude, get away from. (intransitive) To avoid capture; to get away with something, avoid punishment. (transitive) To elude the observation or notice of; to not be seen or remembered by. c. 1698-1699 (year published) Edmund Ludlow, Memoirs They escaped the search of the enemy. (transitive, computing) To cause (a single character, or all such characters in a string) to be interpreted literally, instead of with any special meaning it would usually have in the same context, often by prefixing with another character. 1998 August, Tim Berners-Lee et al., Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax (RFC 2396), page 8: If the data for a URI component would conflict with the reserved purpose, then the conflicting data must be escaped before forming the URI. (computing) To halt a program or command by pressing a key (such as the "Esc" key) or combination of keys. ==== Usage notes ==== In senses 2. and 3. this is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs ==== Synonyms ==== break loose take it on the lam ==== Hyponyms ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === escape (countable and uncountable, plural escapes) The act of leaving a dangerous or unpleasant situation. Leakage or outflow, as of steam or a liquid, or an electric current through defective insulation. Something that has escaped; an escapee. A holiday, viewed as time away from the vicissitudes of life. (computing) escape key (programming) The text character represented by 27 (decimal) or 1B (hexadecimal). (snooker) A successful shot from a snooker position. (manufacturing) A defective product that is allowed to leave a manufacturing facility. (obsolete) That which escapes attention or restraint; a mistake, oversight, or transgression. (obsolete) A sally. (architecture) An apophyge. (botany) A cultivated plant found growing as though wild, dispersed by some agency. ==== Derived terms ==== garden escape ==== Translations ==== === References === William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “escape”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “escape”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. Escape in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911) === Anagrams === Peaces, espace, peaces == Asturian == === Etymology === From escapar. === Noun === escape m (plural escapes) escape == French == === Pronunciation === === Adjective === escape (plural escapes) escape === Noun === escape f (plural escapes) (architecture) escape === Related terms === échapper escapade escaper === Further reading === “escape”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Galician == === Etymology === From escapar. === Noun === escape m (plural escapes) escape === Verb === escape inflection of escapar: first/third-person singular present subjunctive third-person singular imperative === Further reading === “escape”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026 == Italian == === Etymology === Borrowed from English escape. === Noun === escape m (invariable) (computing) the escape key == Portuguese == === Pronunciation === Rhymes: -api, -apɨ Hyphenation: es‧ca‧pe === Etymology 1 === Deverbal from escapar. ==== Noun ==== escape m (plural escapes) escape (Portugal) clipping of tubo de escape === Etymology 2 === ==== Verb ==== escape inflection of escapar: first/third-person singular present subjunctive third-person singular imperative === Further reading === “escape”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “escape”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Spanish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /esˈkape/ [esˈka.pe] Rhymes: -ape Syllabification: es‧ca‧pe === Etymology 1 === Deverbal from escapar. ==== Noun ==== escape m (plural escapes) escape leak Synonym: fuga exhaust pipe, tailpipe Synonym: tubo de escape ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== === Etymology 2 === ==== Verb ==== escape inflection of escapar: first/third-person singular present subjunctive third-person singular imperative === Further reading === “escape”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025