Definition of escape

(the act of escaping physically; "he made his escape from the mental hospital"; "the canary escaped from its cage"; "his flight was an indication of his guilt")

(an inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy; "romantic novels were her escape from the stress of daily life"; "his alcohol problem was a form of escapism")

(nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do; "his evasion of his clear duty was reprehensible"; "that escape from the consequences is possible but unattractive")

(an avoidance of danger or difficulty; "that was a narrow escape")

(a means or way of escaping; "hard work was his escape from worry"; "they installed a second hatch as an escape"; "their escape route")

(a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild)

(the discharge of a fluid from some container; "they tried to stop the escape of gas from the damaged pipe"; "he had to clean up the leak")

(a valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler); it opens automatically when the pressure reaches a dangerous level)

(run away from confinement; "The convicted murderer escaped from a high security prison")

(fail to experience; "Fortunately, I missed the hurricane")

(escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action; "She gets away with murder!"; "I couldn't get out from under these responsibilities")

(be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by; "What you are seeing in him eludes me")

(remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion; "We escaped to our summer house for a few days"; "The president of the company never manages to get away during the summer")

(flee; take to one's heels; cut and run; "If you see this man, run!"; "The burglars escaped before the police showed up")

(issue or leak, as from a small opening; "Gas escaped into the bedroom")