escalate

verb

es·​ca·​late ˈe-skə-ˌlāt 

nonstandard

-skyə- 

escalated; escalating

intransitive verb

: to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope

a little war threatens to escalate into a huge ugly one

—Arnold Abrams

transitive verb

: expand sense 2

escalation

ˌe-skə-ˈlā-shən 

 nonstandard  -skyə-

noun

escalatory

ˈe-skə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē 

 nonstandard  -skyə-

adjective

Synonyms

• accelerate
• accumulate
• appreciate
• balloon
• boom
• build up
• burgeon
• bourgeon
• climb
• enlarge
• expand
• gain
• increase
• mount
• multiply
• mushroom
• proliferate
• rise
• roll up
• snowball
• spread
• swell
• wax

Examples of escalate in a Sentence

The conflict has escalated into an all-out war.

a time of escalating tensions

We are trying not to escalate the violence.

Salaries of leading executives have continued to escalate.

The cold weather has escalated fuel prices.

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2020, a series of escalating protests in Washington, D.C., culminated in the attack on the Capitol after the turn of the new year. —Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024

When Lucas and his colleagues complained about their coworker’s escalating harassment, Culver’s reportedly fired them the next day rather than investigate their complaints. —Abby Monteil, Them, 29 Oct. 2024

LaPaglia publicly confirmed their relationship on her podcast after a month of escalating rumors. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2024

Israel struck Iran multiple times on Saturday in an escalating regional tit-for-tat. —Benjamin Brown, CNN, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from escalator

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing escalate

• de-escalate
• re-escalate

Kids Definition

escalate

verb

es·​ca·​late ˈes-kə-ˌlāt 

escalated; escalating

: to increase in extent, volume, or scope : expand

escalate prices

escalation

ˌes-kə-ˈlā-shən 

noun