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

The Carmen co-location has come up as an issue before, with a dispute over the use of Room 11 at ALBA escalating into protests at MPS' central offices in 2019. —Rory Linnane, Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024

For residents of Ukraine’s second-largest city, daily Russian attacks have escalated fears but have not brought life to a standstill. —Marc Santora Tyler Hicks, New York Times, 24 Apr. 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