verb

échapper

escape

Se libérer d’une situation ou d’un endroit où l’on ne veut pas rester.

Definition & meaning

Échapper is a verb meaning to escape, get away, avoid, or slip out of reach. Its precise meaning depends on the construction:

To escape or evade someone or something: échapper à la police means “to escape the police” or “evade the police.” The verb is commonly followed by à.
To slip away or escape notice: Une erreur lui a échappé means “An error escaped his notice” or “He overlooked an error.”
To let something out unintentionally: in laisser échapper, it can mean to let out or reveal something, as in letting out a cry or letting a secret slip.
In its pronominal form, to get away or break free: s’échapper means “to escape” or “to break free.”

Grammar & Word origin

Échapper is a regular -er verb. In its non-pronominal form, it uses avoir in compound tenses: il a échappé. The pronominal form s’échapper uses être: elle s’est échappée.

The verb often takes à before the person or thing one escapes or avoids. In laisser échapper, the noun that follows is the thing unintentionally released or revealed.

The word comes from Old French eschaper, traditionally traced to a Latin-derived form meaning “to get out of one’s cloak.” Its modern spelling does not divide neatly into a productive prefix and root.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms vary by sense:

fuir — “to flee”; emphasizes actively running or moving away.
s’évader — “to escape” or “break out”; often suggests escaping from a prison, confinement, or controlled setting.
éviter — “to avoid”; means preventing contact or an event, rather than escaping from it.
passer inaperçu [?](vocabuo://word/passer inaperçu) — “to go unnoticed”; close to the sense of something escaping notice.
laisser échapper [?](vocabuo://word/laisser échapper) — “to let slip” or “let out”; applies to an unintended sound, word, or disclosure.

There is no single antonym for every sense. Depending on context:

attraper — “to catch”; the opposite of escaping capture.
retenir — “to hold back” or “retain”; the opposite of letting something escape or out.
remarquer — “to notice”; the opposite of something escaping someone’s attention.

Common phrases & collocations

échapper à quelqu’un [?](vocabuo://word/échapper à quelqu’un) — to escape or evade someone.
échapper à un danger [?](vocabuo://word/échapper à un danger) — to escape a danger.
s’échapper de prison [?](vocabuo://word/s’échapper de prison) — to escape from prison.
laisser échapper un cri [?](vocabuo://word/laisser échapper un cri) — to let out a cry.
laisser échapper un secret [?](vocabuo://word/laisser échapper un secret) — to let a secret slip.
échapper à l’attention de quelqu’un [?](vocabuo://word/échapper à l’attention de quelqu’un) — to escape someone’s notice.