What does “avoid” mean?
- 1
verbto stay away from someone or something
I try to avoid driving at rush hour.
- 2
verbto stop something bad from happening
Book early to avoid disappointment.
Avoid at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- B1 (intermediate)
- Pronunciation
- /əˈvɔɪd/ · uh-VOYD
How to use “avoid” correctly
“Avoid” is followed by -ing: “Avoid eating late at night”, not “avoid to eat”.
Common phrases with “avoid”
- avoid doing sth
- avoid mistakes
- narrowly avoid
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- avoidance
- avoidable
- unavoidable
“avoid” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- affect verbB1to cause a change in someone or something
- appear verbB1to seem
- beat verbB1to win against someone in a game or competition
- cause verbB1to make something happen, usually something bad
- involve verbB1to include something as a necessary part
- lay verbB1to put someone or something down carefully in a flat position
- occur verbB1to happen, especially without being planned
- perform verbB1to entertain people by acting, singing, dancing or playing music