Crossword Dictionary
ESCAPE
escape, get away - v
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"
Synonyms
breakout, departure, desertion, disappearance, flight, freedom, liberation, outbreak, rescue, withdrawal
Examples
We all need the occasional escape route from the boring, routine aspects of our lives.
There were also few reports of civilians using the ceasefire to escape the city.
The research suggests that employees tend to visit online shopping sites to stave off boredom and escape from work pressures.
Etymology
c. 1300, transitive and intransitive, "free oneself from confinement; extricate oneself from trouble; get away safely by flight (from battle, an enemy, etc.)," from Old North French escaper, Old French eschaper (12c., Modern French échapper), from Vulgar Latin *excappare, literally "get out of one's cape, leave a pursuer with just one's cape," from Latin ex- "out of" (see ex-) + Late Latin cappa "mantle" (see cap (n.)). Mid-14c., of things, "get or keep out of a person's grasp, elude (notice, perception, attention, etc.);" late 14c. as "avoid experiencing or suffering (something), avoid physical contact with; avoid (a consequence)." Formerly sometimes partly Englished as outscape (c. 1500). Related: Escaped; escaping.