INDEX:
1. to escape from somewhere where you are in danger
2. to escape from a prison or from where someone is keeping you
3. to succeed in escaping from someone who is chasing you
4. when someone escapes
5. someone who has escaped
6. to escape from a difficult/embarrassing/boring situation
7. unable to escape
RELATED WORDS
to avoid being killed or injured : ↑ AVOID
see also
↑ RUN
↑ FREE
↑ TIE/UNTIE
↑ PRISON
↑ FOLLOW
↑ CATCH
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1. to escape from somewhere where you are in danger
▷ escape /ɪˈskeɪp/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to get away from a place, country etc where you are in danger, especially when it is difficult to do this because someone is trying to catch you or stop you leaving :
▪ Only four people managed to escape before the roof collapsed.
▪ The refugees have crossed miles of desert to escape civil war and famine.
escape from
▪ Josie managed to escape from her attacker and call the police.
escape into/through/over etc
▪ Some people were able to escape over the border into Tanzania.
▪ When the army began killing civilians in the town, he was able to escape through the jungle.
▷ get out /ˌget ˈaʊt/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to escape from a place or country when there is a serious risk that something bad will happen very soon :
▪ Eventually we realized there was no way of getting out.
▪ A few people managed to get out before the government crackdown.
get out of
▪ All US tourists and journalists are being advised to get out of the country as soon as possible.
get out alive
▪ The whole building was on fire - we were lucky to get out alive!
▷ run away/run off /ˌrʌn əˈweɪ, ˌrʌn ˈɒf/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to try to escape from someone by running away :
▪ Don’t run away - I’m not going to hurt you.
▪ Delia managed to get away from the man and ran off screaming.
run away/run off from
▪ If you run away from the bull, it’s almost certain to attack you.
run away/run off into/down/across etc
▪ He jumped out of the car and ran off into the woods.
▷ bolt /bəʊlt/ [intransitive verb]
to suddenly run away very quickly, as soon as you have a chance, especially because you are very frightened :
▪ One of the horses got into a panic and bolted.
▪ When police approached him to ask him some questions, he bolted.
bolt across/into/out etc
▪ Before I could say a word, she turned and bolted out the front door.
▷ run for it/make a run for it /ˈrʌn fər ɪt, meɪk ə ˈrʌn fər ɪt/ [verb phrase] informal
to suddenly run away very quickly because you are in danger of being caught, especially when you are doing something illegal :
▪ Somebody’s coming. Quick, run for it.
▪ There’s no way we can beat them - we’re going to have to make a run for it.
▷ flee /fliː/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to escape as quickly as possible because you are in great danger - used especially in newspapers :
▪ When police arrived, the two men fled.
flee from/to/into etc
▪ Most of the women there were Somalis fleeing from the civil war.
▪ Up to five million political refugees have fled to other countries.
flee the country/the city etc
▪ Rollins tried to flee the country but was stopped at the airport.
▷ make your escape /ˌmeɪk jɔːr ɪˈskeɪp/ [verb phrase]
to escape from a place or a dangerous situation, especially when you do this quickly and secretly, as soon as you have a chance :
▪ He made his escape by climbing through the window and down the fire escape.
▪ The hostages spent days waiting for the opportunity to make their escape.
▷ take to your heels /ˌteɪk tə jɔːʳ ˈhiːlz/ [verb phrase]
to escape by running away very quickly - used especially in stories :
▪ The kids immediately took to their heels as Mrs Brewster appeared around the corner.
▪ He jumped off the train, took to his heels, and was quickly out of sight.
▷ break free/break away /ˌbreɪk ˈfriː, ˌbreɪk əˈweɪ/ [verb phrase]
to escape from someone who is holding you :
▪ She wanted to break away, but his grip was too strong.
▪ With a violent twist he broke free and ran out of the room.
break free/break away from
▪ Then Tammy broke free from Judd and ran for the door screaming.
▷ bail out /ˌbeɪl ˈaʊt/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to escape from an aircraft that is going to crash :
▪ The pilot bailed out of the aircraft just in time and was only slightly injured.
2. to escape from a prison or from where someone is keeping you
▷ escape /ɪˈskeɪp/ [intransitive verb]
to escape from a prison or from a place where someone is keeping you :
▪ Guards have been ordered to shoot anyone trying to escape.
escape from
▪ He escaped from prison in June, but was rearrested by police a month later.
escape into/through/out etc.
▪ Grant had escaped through a bathroom window while in police custody.
▷ break out/get out /ˌbreɪk ˈaʊt, ˌget ˈaʊt/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to escape from a prison or from a building or room where you are being kept :
▪ Some of the men were planning to break out.
▪ The doors and windows are all firmly locked - I don’t know how we’re going to get out.
break out/get out of
▪ In 1998 the two men broke out of jail and murdered a police officer.
▪ No one has ever managed to get out of this prison alive.
3. to succeed in escaping from someone who is chasing you
▷ escape /ɪˈskeɪp/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to succeed in escaping from someone who is trying to catch you :
▪ It looks as if they’ve escaped. They’re probably over the border by now.
▪ So far the terrorists have managed to escape the police.
escape from
▪ He ducked down an alley to escape from the mob that was chasing him.
escape into/across/over etc
▪ Criminals generally know their neighborhood well, so it’s not difficult for them to escape into the back streets.
▷ get away /ˌget əˈweɪ/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to escape from someone who is chasing you, especially when there is no chance that you will be caught afterwards :
▪ How could you let him get away!
▪ Police believe the gunmen got away in a white Ford pickup.
get away from
▪ Follow that car and don’t let it get away from you.
get clean away
get away completely
▪ Detectives followed the man as far as the harbour, but then he jumped into a speedboat and got clean away.
▷ give somebody the slip /ˌgɪv somebody ðə ˈslɪp/ [verb phrase] informal
to escape from someone who is chasing you by tricking them or doing something unexpected :
▪ Watch him very carefully - he might try and give us the slip.
▪ I wanted to talk to her before she left the hotel, but she gave me the slip.
▷ throw somebody off the scent /ˌθrəʊ somebody ɒf ðə ˈsent/ [verb phrase]
to escape from someone who is chasing you or trying to find you by cleverly doing something that makes it impossible for them to know where you are :
▪ He made the calls from different pay phones around the city to throw the police off the scent.
▷ shake off /ˌʃeɪk ˈɒf/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to escape from someone, especially someone who has been chasing you for a long time, for example by hiding or by going faster than them :
shake off somebody
▪ Mailer disappeared into a dark basement, hoping to shake off the gang.
shake somebody off
▪ You’re going to have to drive faster if you want to shake them off.
▷ make your getaway/make a getaway /ˌmeɪk jʊːʳ ˈgetəweɪ, ˌmeɪk ə ˈgetəweɪ/ [verb phrase]
to successfully escape after a crime, leaving no signs to show where you are :
▪ Police have found the helicopters that the terrorists used to make their getaway.
make a clean getaway
to escape leaving no signs to show where you are
▪ The robbers hopped into a waiting car and made a clean getaway.
▷ elude /ɪˈluːd/ [transitive verb] formal
to cleverly avoid being found or caught by someone, especially for a long time :
▪ Despite a $25,000 reward on his head, he continues to elude the authorities.
elude capture
▪ Lt. Forney managed to elude capture by enemy forces for several weeks.
4. when someone escapes
▷ escape /ɪˈskeɪp/ [countable noun]
when someone escapes from prison, from danger, or from someone who is chasing them :
▪ They had planned their escape very carefully.
▪ ‘Tunnel to Tanto Grande’ is the story of a daring escape staged by political prisoners in Peru.
escape from
▪ Until his escape from the camps, he was beaten nearly every day by his captors.
narrow escape
when you only just escape from danger
▪ It was a narrow escape - a couple of minutes later the whole place went up in flames.
▷ breakout also jailbreak American /ˈbreɪkaʊt, ˈdʒeɪlbreɪk/ [countable noun]
an escape from a prison, especially one that involves several prisoners and is done using violence :
▪ Prison governors met today to discuss ways of preventing similar breakouts in the future.
▪ As many as 20 guards may have been involved in the jailbreak.
breakout from
▪ There was a mass breakout from a city center prison yesterday.
5. someone who has escaped
▷ escaped /ɪˈskeɪpt/ [adjective only before noun]
use this to describe someone who has escaped, especially from a prison :
▪ Police are on the lookout for three escaped prisoners.
▪ Sherwood, an escaped convict, hunted down his ex-girlfriend and killed her.
▷ be on the loose/be at large /biː ɒn ðə ˈluːs, biː ət ˈlɑːʳdʒ/ [verb phrase]
someone who is on the loose or at large has escaped from the police or from a prison and is likely to be dangerous :
▪ There’s a killer on the loose, and we’ve got to find him.
▪ Carillo’s murderer remained at large yesterday as investigators continued their search.
▷ be on the run /biː ɒn ðə ˈrʌn/ [verb phrase]
someone who is on the run is trying to hide or escape from someone who is chasing them, especially the police :
▪ After the train robbery he spent three years on the run.
be on the run from
▪ Dean was a drug addict who was constantly on the run from the police.
▷ fugitive /ˈfjuːdʒɪtɪv, ˈfjuːdʒətɪv/ [countable noun]
someone who has escaped from the police or from danger, who has to keep moving from one place to another so that they will not be caught :
▪ Porter escaped in 1995 and remains a fugitive.
fugitive from
▪ a fugitive from Stalin’s oppressive regime
6. to escape from a difficult/embarrassing/boring situation
▷ escape/get away /ɪˈskeɪp, ˌget əˈweɪ/ [verb]
to get out of a difficult, embarrassing, or boring situation :
▪ He decided to tell me all about his trip to Majorca, and I just couldn’t get away.
▪ Let’s see if we can escape before the speeches start.
▷ extricate yourself /ˈekstrɪkeɪt jɔːʳself, ˈekstrəkeɪt jɔːʳself/ [verb phrase] formal
to escape from an embarrassing or difficult situation :
▪ Once they realized that I had been lying, it was almost impossible to extricate myself.
extricate yourself from
▪ At that time, the US was on the verge of extricating itself from the unpopular war.
▷ talk your way out of /ˌtɔːk jɔːʳ weɪ ˈaʊt ɒv/ [verb phrase]
to escape from an unpleasant or embarrassing situation by giving explanations, making excuses etc :
▪ I don’t know how she’s going to talk her way out of this one.
▪ Phil never does his homework, but he always manages to talk his way out of it.
7. unable to escape
▷ can’t escape/can’t get out /ˌkɑːnt ɪˈskeɪp, ˌkɑːnt get ˈaʊtǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase]
▪ I’ve locked all the doors and windows - he can’t get out.
▪ Two of the children couldn’t escape, and died in the fire.
▷ trapped /træpt/ [adjective]
unable to escape from a dangerous place or an unpleasant situation :
▪ The miners have been trapped underground for three days.
▪ He was beginning to feel trapped in his job.
▪ The two trapped firefighters were rescued on the second day.
▷ be stuck /biː ˈstʌk/ [verb phrase] especially spoken
to be unable to escape from an unpleasant or boring situation :
be stuck in/with/here
▪ I don’t want to be stuck in an office all my life.
▪ I’m tired of being stuck here with the kids all day.
▷ be cooped up /biː ˌ kuːpt ˈʌp/ [verb phrase] informal
to be unable to leave a place, so that you feel bored or very impatient :
be cooped up in
▪ I didn’t want to be cooped up in a small hotel room, while everyone else enjoyed the sea.
be cooped up with
▪ I don’t know how she survives being cooped up with three screaming kids all day!
▷ there is no escape /ðeər ɪz ˌnəʊ ɪˈskeɪp/
used to say that there does not seem to be any way of escaping from a dangerous or unpleasant place or situation :
▪ Don’t even try to get out of here - there’s no escape.
there is no escape from
▪ There seems to be no escape from the noise and confusion of city life.
▷ be imprisoned /biː ɪmˈprɪz ə nd/ [verb phrase]
to be unable to escape, or feel too frightened to escape, from the place where you are or from an unpleasant situation :
▪ Some of these old people are imprisoned in their own homes by the threat of violence on the streets.
▷ be a prisoner /biː ə ˈprɪz ə nəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to be unable to escape, for example from a place, an unpleasant situation, or your own thoughts and opinions, so that you feel you cannot do anything to change things :
▪ The door was locked from the outside, and suddenly they realized they were prisoners.
be a prisoner of
▪ In some respects I’m a prisoner of my past - I don’t feel I can just start over.