avoid

Study(16)

/əˈvɔɪd/

verb 5

Collocations

(verb.) prevent sth

ADV

altogether

We tried to avoid the topic altogether during our family dinner last night.

narrowly

The car narrowly avoided hitting a pedestrian at the crosswalk this morning.

at all costs

We must protect our children from danger at all costs.

VERB + AVOID

be anxious to, want to, wish to

She wanted to avoid the traffic by leaving for work earlier than usual.

attempt to, try to

be careful to, take care to

She takes care to avoid using her phone while driving.

help (to) | be able to, manage to | be possible to | be difficult to, be impossible to

PHRASES

an attempt/effort to avoid sth

She made a real effort to avoid getting stuck in traffic during rush hour.

(verb.) keep away from sb

ADV

carefully, deliberately, studiously

She deliberately avoided the topic of money during their dinner conversation.

VERB + AVOID

try to

(verb.) not hit sb/sth when driving

ADV

narrowly

She narrowly avoided spilling coffee all over her new white shirt this morning.

VERB + AVOID

brake to

swerve to

The driver swerved to avoid hitting the pothole in the middle of the road.

Definitions

verb

To try not to meet or communicate with (a person); to shun.

To stay out of the way of (something harmful).

I avoided the slap easily.

One town was flooded from the storm, while the other town avoided the storm.

To keep away from; to keep clear of; to stay away from.

I try to avoid the company of gamblers.

What need a man foreſtall his date of griefe / And run to meet what he would moſt avoid?

To try not to do something or to have something happen.

Then he realized, by the immobility of the other children and by the way they avoided looking at him, that it was he who was selected for punishment.

To make empty; to clear.

If thou haue, he shal lyue with thee, and auoide thee out ; and he shal not sorewen vpon thee.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

verb — prevent the occurrence of

debar
forefend
forfend
obviate
deflect
avert

verb — declare invalid

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

I avoided the slap easily.

Wiktionary

One town was flooded from the storm, while the other town avoided the storm.

Wiktionary

I try to avoid the company of gamblers.

Wiktionary

An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his field, and how to avoid them.

Tatoeba · #1795

I avoid crossing the street here if I am in a hurry.

Tatoeba · #19727

Thanks to the opportunity, we were able to avoid substantial effort.

Tatoeba · #20490

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, avoid is marked as obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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