Escaper

es·cape  (-skp)

v. es·caped, es·cap·ing, es·capes

v.intr.

1. To break loose from confinement; get free: escape from jail.

2. To issue from confinement or an enclosure; leak or seep out: Gas was escaping from the vent.

3. To avoid a serious or unwanted outcome: escaped from the accident with their lives.

4. Botany To become established in the wild. Used of a cultivated species.

5. Computer Science To interrupt a command, exit a program, or change levels within a program by using a key, combination of keys, or key sequence.

v.tr.

1. To succeed in avoiding: The thief escaped punishment.

2. To break loose from; get free of: The spacecraft escaped Earth's gravitational field.

3. To elude the memory or comprehension of: Her name escapes me. The book's significance escaped him.

4. To issue involuntarily from: A sigh escaped my lips.

n.

1. The act or an instance of escaping.

2. A means of escaping.

3. A means of obtaining temporary freedom from worry, care, or unpleasantness: Television is my escape from worry.

4. A gradual effusion from an enclosure; a leakage.

5. Botany A plant that has become established away from the area of cultivation.

6. Computer Science A key, combination of keys, or key sequence, used especially to interrupt a command, exit a program, or change levels within a program.

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[Middle English escapen, from Old North French escaper, from Vulgar Latin *excappre, to get out of one's cape, get away : Latin ex-, ex- + Medieval Latin cappa, cloak.]

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es·capa·ble adj.

es·caper n.

Synonyms: escape, avoid, shun, eschew, evade, elude
These verbs mean to get or stay away from persons or things. Escape can mean to get free or to remain untouched or unaffected by something unwanted: "Let no guilty man escape, if it can be avoided" (Ulysses S. Grant).
Avoid always involves an effort to keep away from what is considered to be a source of danger or difficulty: avoiding strenuous exercise.
Shun refers to deliberately keeping clear of what is unwelcome or undesirable: "Family friends ... she shunned like the plague" (John Galsworthy).
Eschew involves staying clear of something because to do otherwise would be unwise or morally wrong: "Eschew evil, and do good" (Book of Common Prayer).
Evade implies adroit maneuvering and sometimes implies dishonesty or irresponsibility: tried to evade jury duty.
To elude is to get away from artfully: eluded their pursuers.

Usage Note: Traditionally, escape is used with from when it means "break loose" and with a direct object when it means "avoid." Thus we might say The forger escaped from prison by hiding in a laundry truck, but The forger escaped prison when he turned in his accomplices in order to get a suspended sentence. In recent years, however, escape has been used with a direct object in the sense "break free of": The spacecraft will acquire sufficient velocity to escape the sun's gravitational attraction. This usage is well established and should be regarded as standard.