escape
     n 1: 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" [syn: {flight}]
     2: 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" [syn: {escapism}]
     3: the unwanted 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" [syn: {leak}, {leakage}, {outflow}]
     4: 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 [syn: {safety valve}, {relief
        valve}, {escape valve}, {escape cock}]
     5: 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" [syn: {evasion},
         {dodging}]
     6: an avoidance of danger or difficulty; "that was a narrow
        escape"
     7: a means or way of escaping; "hard work was his escape from
        worry"; "they installed a second hatch as an escape";
        "their escape route"
     8: a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild
     v 1: run away from confinement; "The convicted murderer escaped
          from a high security prison" [syn: {get away}, {break
          loose}]
     2: fail to experience; "Fortunately, I missed the hurricane"
        [syn: {miss}]
     3: escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a
        forbidden action; "She gets away with murder!"; "I
        couldn't get out from under these responsibilities" [syn:
        {get off}, {get away}, {get by}, {get out}]
     4: be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by; "What you
        are seeing in him eludes me" [syn: {elude}]
     5: issue or leak, as from a small opening; "Gas escaped into
        the bedroom"
     6: 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" [syn: {get away}]
     7: flee; take to one's heels; cut and run; "If you see this
        man, run!"; "The burglars escaped before the police showed
        up" [syn: {run}, {scarper}, {turn tail}, {lam}, {run away},
         {hightail it}, {bunk}, {head for the hills}, {take to the
        woods}, {fly the coop}, {break away}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0