what does it mean when someone in the process of buying real estate says I’m “in escrow”?

Laws differ by state, but in essence being “in escrow” means they have made an offer on a property and have paid the earnest money, option fee, etc.

Releasing all contingencies means the stipulations in the contract specifying when certain events must occur, such as inspections, have passed.

escrow is like when 2 guys make a bet and get a third guy to hold the money until the deal goes down.
In real estate the two guys are the buyer and the seller and instead of a bet, they’ve made a deal. The third guy is the bank….basically.