How to Use avoid in a Sentence

avoid

verb
  • She took a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.
  • Why do you keep avoiding me?
  • He was caught trying to avoid arrest.
  • I am trying to avoid showing any hint of favoritism.
  • He tried hard to avoid accidents.
  • We need to avoid further delays.
  • I'm not going to be late if I can avoid it.
  • How can I avoid paying too much tax?
  • They successfully avoided each other for days.
  • The Tigers hope to avoid the sweep with Alex Faedo getting the nod on the mound.
    Jenna Malinowski, Detroit Free Press, 23 July 2023
  • The current is your friend; use it to drift your fly to the fish to avoid spooking.
    Max Inchausti, Field & Stream, 24 Apr. 2024
  • To do this, avoid cutting all the way through when trimming off the base of each rib.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 26 Dec. 2024
  • Is one day enough at Disneyland?:No, and here's why Disney fans may want to avoid it.
    Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2023
  • What’s next: The good news is that there’s still plenty of time to avoid default.
    Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 6 Dec. 2022
  • This will be valuable to avoid the drama and not to let anyone put you in a mood.
    Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2024
  • The two cousins avoid each other and don’t appear to be speaking.
    Amy Dickinson, oregonlive, 22 July 2023
  • Lastly, avoid the sun, since UV rays can cause color to fade.
    Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Sheldon will play at Sprague, looking to avoid a 0-3 start to the season.
    Nikstreng, oregonlive, 9 Sep. 2023
  • To avoid this, cancel and sign in to YouTube on your computer.
    Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 21 Dec. 2023
  • To avoid slamming into the bus, the driver swerved to the right, the sheriff's office said.
    Will McDuffie, ABC News, 12 May 2023
  • Many people want to avoid bringing their whole selves to work.
    Monique Wilson, Glamour, 29 Nov. 2022
  • Some people need to avoid gluten, dairy, or soy due to health issues.
    Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health, 8 June 2024
  • This breakdown is the best way to engage all parts of your body and avoid strain or injury.
    Maggie Slepian, Popular Mechanics, 13 Jan. 2023
  • Buyers would have the same latitude, and some could avoid all fees.
    Laurent Belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2024
  • The author described the war years in detail and didn't avoid the very grim, dirty and sad details.
    Good Housekeeping, 4 Aug. 2023
  • In the past ten or so years, more Chinese have found ways to enroll their kids in U.S. high schools, in part to avoid gaokao agony.
    Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
  • While many have tax treaties with the U.S. to avoid double taxation, not all do.
    Byalicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2024
  • So, taking steps to avoid getting sick is the best approach.
    Erica Sweeney, Men's Health, 13 May 2023
  • The brothers asked that their surname not be published to avoid repercussions.
    Carlotta Gall, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
  • Expert instructors will teach you how to get started, practical uses, tips for effective prompt-writing, and mistakes to avoid.
    Jeremy Schifeling, Contributor, CNBC, 13 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'avoid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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