/ əˈvɔɪd; NAmE / verb
1.
to prevent sth bad from happening :
[ vn ]
The accident could have been avoided.
They narrowly avoided defeat.
The name was changed to avoid confusion with another firm.
[ vn -ing ]
They built a wall to avoid soil being washed away.
2.
to keep away from sb/sth; to try not to do sth :
[ vn ]
He's been avoiding me all week.
She kept avoiding my eyes (= avoided looking at me) .
I left early to avoid the rush hour.
[ v -ing ]
I've been avoiding getting down to work all day.
You should avoid mentioning his divorce.
3.
[ vn ] to prevent yourself from hitting sth :
I had to swerve to avoid a cat.
•
IDIOMS
- avoid sb/sth like the plague
—more at trap noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French evuider clear out, get rid of, from vuide empty, related to Latin vacare vacate.