escalation

1. The act of escalating. (countable, uncountable)
2. An increase or rise, especially to counteract a perceived discrepancy. (countable, uncountable)
3. A deliberate or premeditated increase in the violence or geographic scope of a conflict. (countable, uncountable)
4. The reassignment of a difficult problem to someone whose job is dedicated to handling such cases. (countable, uncountable)

Plural escalations