get away
phrasal verb·3 senses·particle away
Meanings
Escape from a place or situation
Why “away”? A person, object, look, or choice becomes more distant from its starting point.
“The thief got away before police arrived.”
“The prisoner got away through a broken window.”
“He couldn't get away from his desk all afternoon.”
Take a short holiday
“We need to get away for the weekend.”
“They got away to the coast for two days.”
“It's been ages since we got away anywhere.”
“Maya and Leo were glad to get away for their weekend train trip.”
Avoid being caught or punished for something
“He got away with cheating.”
“The driver got away with parking there.”
“He managed to get away with that.”
“Mia got away with copying the homework.”
“The shop got away with charging extra fees.”
Memory hook
You move away from where you are — escape for a while.
Common mistake
We got away to the stress of the city.
We got away from the stress of the city.
Use get away from to mean escape.
Natural collocations
The word partners “get away” most often appears with — learn the phrase, not just the verb.
In conversation
You look refreshed.
We got away for a few days — it really helped.
Don't confuse with
Get away means escape from a place or situation. Get back means return to a place.
Get away means escape from a place or situation. Get over means recover from an illness or upset.
Get away means avoid being caught or punished for something. Get around means avoid a rule or difficulty.
Test yourself
“The thief got away before police arrived.” What does it mean?
Nearby in the meaning map
Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.
get around
A contrast learners often mix up
Avoid a rule or difficulty; Travel or move about; (of news) become widely known; Find time to do something
get back
A contrast learners often mix up
Return to a place; Reply to someone, often with information they asked for; Take revenge on someone; Receive something again that you had before
get over
A contrast learners often mix up
Recover from an illness or upset; Overcome a difficulty; Cross to the other side of an obstacle; Manage to finish something difficult
get round
A contrast learners often mix up
Travel from one place to another, especially when difficult; Persuade someone to do what you want by gentle means; Find a way to deal with or avoid a problem or rule; Finally find time to do something postponed
back away
Same away pattern: leaving
Move away or distance yourself, often from fear or caution
break away
Same away pattern: leaving
Escape from someone holding you; Leave a group to form a separate one; Pull ahead of others in a race
call away
Same away pattern: leaving
Be required to leave because of an urgent matter
chase away
Same away pattern: leaving
Force someone or something to leave by chasing
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