escape

/ɪˈskeɪp/

//ɪˈskeɪp// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"escape" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“escape” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,292. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,292
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To get free; to free oneself.

Corpus desk

Index EN-escape · escape · English

escape · rank #2,292 · 8 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,292
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH documents

Nearest frequency peer: documents (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “escape”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “escape” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

escape vs estate
67% similar
escape vs escaped
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for escape
PropertyValue
Headwordescape
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪˈskeɪp/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,292
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “escape”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).escapelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “documents” (#2,291), “extended” (#2,293), “distribution” (#2,290). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “escape” is #2,292. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around escape (IPA /ɪˈskeɪp/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,292 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for escape, with forms such as "ecsape", "esacpe", and "escaep". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "estate", "escaped", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English escapen, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French escaper ( = Old French eschaper, modern French échapper), from Vulgar Latin *excappāre (“to escape a garment, get out of one's clothing”, literally “to free oneself from one's cape”), fr… The correct English form is escape, spelled E-S-C-A-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To get free; to free oneself.
  2. 2
    To avoid (any unpleasant person or thing); to elude, get away from.
  3. 3
    To avoid capture; to get away with something, avoid punishment.
  4. 4
    To elude the observation or notice of; to not be seen or remembered by.
  5. 5
    To cause (a single character, or all such characters in a string) to be interpreted literally, instead of with any special meaning it would usually have in the same context, often by prefixing with another character.
  6. 6
    To halt a program or command by pressing a key (such as the "Esc" key) or combination of keys.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how escape appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The prisoners escaped by jumping over a wall.
  2. The factory was evacuated after toxic gases escaped from a pipe.

Etymology

From Middle English escapen, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French escaper ( = Old French eschaper, modern French échapper), from Vulgar Latin *excappāre (“to escape a garment, get out of one's clothing”, literally “to free oneself from one's cape”), from Latin ex- (“out”) + Late Latin cappa (“cape, cloak”). Cognate with escapade. Also doublet of scape.

Synonyms

break loosetake it on the lam

This word in other languages

escapar(Español)échapper(Français)entgehen(Deutsch)escapar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ecsape
  • esacpe
  • escaep
  • escappe
  • esccape
  • escpae
  • esscape
  • secape

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of escape - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ecsape2esacpe2escaep2escappe1esccape1escpae2esscape1secape2
Edit distance from "escape"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "escape"?
"escape" is spelled E-S-C-A-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪˈskeɪp/.
What does "escape" mean?
As a verb, "escape" means: To get free; to free oneself.
What words are commonly confused with "escape"?
"escape" is commonly confused with "estate", "escaped". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "escape"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "escape" is /ɪˈskeɪp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "escape"?
From Middle English escapen, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French escaper ( = Old French eschaper, modern French échapper), from Vulgar Latin *excappāre (“to escape a garment, get out of one's clothing”, literally “to free oneself from one's ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "escape", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

faster#2,295debate#2,288ladies#2,301lights#2,303

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

films8 variantssecure8 variantstruck8 variantsdying8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list