# escalation

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌɛs.kəˈleɪ.ʃən/ · frequency rank #19,078

## Definitions
1. The act of escalating.
2. An increase or rise, especially to counteract a perceived discrepancy.
3. A deliberate or premeditated increase in the violence or geographic scope of a conflict.
4. The reassignment of a difficult problem to someone whose job is dedicated to handling such cases.

## Etymology
From escalate + -ion.

## Easily confused with
- **escalator** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/escalation-vs-escalator)
- **excavation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/escalation-vs-excavation)

## Common misspellings (15)
`ecsalation`, `esaclation`, `escaaltion`, `escalaiton`, `escalasion`, `escalatino`, `escalationn`, `escalatoin`, `escalattion`, `escallation`, `escaltaion`, `esccalation`, `esclaation`, `esscalation`, `secalation`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/escalation