escape path

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   a route that people can follow to get out of a dangerous place safely.

   Grammar: Countable: one escape path, several escape paths. Often used with 'clear' or 'blocked'.

   Patterns

   • keep the escape path clear
   • an escape path from something
   • block an escape path

   Firefighters told the staff to keep every escape path clear of boxes.

   The miners followed an escape path that led to a side tunnel.

   Smoke filled the corridor, so the escape path was hard to see.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   a way of getting away from a difficult situation or an unwanted duty.

   Grammar: Often used figuratively with 'provide' or 'leave': leave an escape path open.

   Patterns

   • provide an escape path
   • leave an escape path open
   • an escape path from something

   The contract left him an escape path if the project failed.

   For many young people, education is the only escape path from poverty.

3. 3nouncountablecomputing

   a route by which data or a program can leave a system, or a way out of a computer process.

   Grammar: Technical use, common in computing: the program searches for an escape path.

   Patterns

   • find an escape path
   • an escape path out of something

   The program searches for an escape path when the main connection fails.

   Engineers closed the escape path that the attackers had used.

Word forms

Common combinations

keep the escape path clear

Safety officers check that workers keep the escape path clear.

a blocked escape path

A blocked escape path can turn a small fire into a disaster.

an escape path from something

The map shows the escape path from the building.

provide an escape path

The new rules provide an escape path for small firms.

follow an escape path

Follow the marked escape path to the exit.

Synonyms and how they differ

escape route

The usual everyday phrase for getting out of a building or danger; 'escape path' is more common in technical or written safety texts.

way out

Informal and general; it can mean a door or simply a solution, while an escape path suggests a planned route.

Word family

escape verb

to get away from a place or situation.

escape route noun

the more common everyday term for a way out.

fire escape noun

metal stairs or a ladder on the outside of a building for leaving during a fire.

Commonly confused: escape path or escape goat?

Practice

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