escalate C1 Topic:Cause, Change & Process US /ˈɛs.kjə.leɪt/ UK /ˈɛs.kə.leɪt/ See IPA manual Freq #22762 Meanings 1 verb To become or make something more serious or intense. The argument quickly escalated into a violent fight. 2 verb To pass a problem to someone with more authority to deal with it. If the support agent can't help, they will escalate your case to a manager. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to become or make something... intensify Word family Forms escalatedescalatesescalating Derived forms de-escalateescalatinglyescalationescalatoryreescalateunescalated Related forms escalatorscale Etymology AI details Back-formation from escalator. Topics Cause, Change & Process Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # escalate **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈɛs.kjə.leɪt/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈɛs.kə.leɪt/ **Frequency rank:** 22762 ## Meanings 1. To become or make something more serious or intense. 2. To pass a problem to someone with more authority to deal with it. ## Examples - The argument quickly escalated into a violent fight. - If the support agent can't help, they will escalate your case to a manager. ## Derived Forms - de-escalate - escalatingly - escalation - escalatory - reescalate - unescalated ## Related Forms - escalator - scale ## Etymology Back-formation from escalator. ## AI Etymology Escalate is a back-formation from escalator. The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as de-escalate, escalatingly, escalation, and escalatory and related forms such as escalator and scale. In present use it covers to become or make something more serious or intense and to pass a problem to someone with more authority to deal with it. ## Topics - Cause, Change & Process - Actions & Processes - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown