English

Verb

escalate ‎(third-person singular simple present escalates, present participle escalating, simple past and past participle escalated)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To increase (something) in extent or intensity; to intensify or step up.

   Violence escalated during the election.

   The shooting escalated the existing hostility.

2. (transitive) In technical support, to transfer a customer, a problem, etc. to the next higher level of authority

   The tech 1 escalated the caller to a tech 2.

Translations

Derived terms

• deescalate

Related terms

• escalator