escalate verb
1 become/make sth worse
ADV. rapidly | steadily Violence between the two sides has been steadily escalating. | suddenly
PREP. into The conflict could escalate rapidly into a full-scale war.
2 increase
ADV. sharply The cost of raw materials has escalated sharply.
You can also check other dicts: escalate (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition