get away

verb

1. to make an escape; leave

2. to make a start

3. 1. to steal and escape (with money, goods, etc)

   2. to do (something wrong, illegal, etc) without being discovered or punished or with only a minor punishment

interjection

1. an exclamation indicating mild disbelief

noun

1. the act of escaping, esp by criminals

2. a start or acceleration

3. (modifier) used for escaping

   a getaway car

Idioms and Phrases

Break free, escape, as in The suspect ran down the street and got away , or I wanted to come but couldn't get away from the office . [c. 1300] A variant is get away from it all , meaning “to depart and leave one's surroundings or problems or work behind.” For example, Joe is taking a few days off—he needs to get away from it all .

Start out or leave quickly, as in The greyhounds got away from the starting gate , or I thought I had the answer but it got away from me .

Go, move off. For example, Get away from my desk! or Get away—I don't want you near that hot stove . [Late 1700s] Also see get away with .

Example Sentences

“I don’t see it as a burden, but you can’t get away from it,” Baltimore said.

From Los Angeles Times

The men tried to get away, but Mr Ahmed either slipped, or fell, after being hit in the face, before Whybrow repeatedly stabbed him as he lay on the ground.

From BBC

The effect is to both tear and balance our allegiance between wanting Robbie to get away clean and rooting for the man chasing him.

From Salon

You couldn’t get away from them, they could park singles at number one by sheer will,” Kirk, who in his early thirties, said.

From Los Angeles Times

He told the court: "I felt he was able to get away with a lot of his activities because he was almost like a Twitter avatar floating around with no real connection to the earth."

From BBC

Related Words

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• blow 
• carry 
• change 
• climb 
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• drift 
• drive 
• flow 
• fly 
• go 
• jump 
• leave 
• migrate 
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• progress 
• propel 
• push 
• relocate 
• remove