depart
Americanverb (used without object)
-
departs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
departed,
past participle, past
-
departing
present participle
-
to go away; leave.
She departed from Paris today. The train departs at 10:52.
- Antonyms:
- arrive
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to diverge or deviate (usually followed byfrom ).
The new method departs from the old in several respects.
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to pass away, as from life or existence; die.
verb (used with object)
-
departs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
departed,
past participle, past
-
departing
present participle
noun
verb
-
to go away; leave
-
to start out; set forth
-
(usually foll by from) to deviate; differ; vary
to depart from normal procedure
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(tr) to quit (archaic, except in the phrase depart this life )
Synonym Usage
Depart, retire, retreat, withdraw imply leaving a place. Depart is a somewhat literary word for going away from a place: to depart on a journey. Retire emphasizes absenting oneself or drawing back from a place: to retire from a position in battle. Retreat implies a necessary withdrawal, especially as a result of adverse fortune in war: to retreat to secondary lines of defense. Withdraw suggests leaving some specific place or situation, usually for some definite and often unpleasant reason: to withdraw from a hopeless task.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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departsimple
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departssimple
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have departedperfect
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has departedperfect
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am departingprogressive
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are departingprogressive
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is departingprogressive
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have been departingperfect progressive
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has been departingperfect progressive
Past
-
departedsimple
-
had departedperfect
-
was departingprogressive
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were departingprogressive
-
had been departingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of depart
1175–1225; Middle English departen < Old French departir, equivalent to de- de- + partir to go away; see part ( v. )
Explanation
To depart is to go away or to choose a different direction. If you are catching a plane, you are soon to depart. And, if you are wearing a kilt instead of jeans, you depart from your usual look. Airports and train stations have gates for arrivals and departures. Airplanes and people coming in "arrive" while those going out depart. You also can depart without going anywhere, as when you change your mind and depart from an earlier decision. To "depart from the norm" is an expression for doing something different than expected, like giggling during a tear-jerker of a movie.
Vocabulary lists containing depart
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Disruption because of a runway defect at Bristol Airport continues, as flights start to depart.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
"Americans in the region should consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation," said the security alert.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Casemiro announced in January that he would depart Old Trafford at the end of the 2026-27 season following a mutual decision not to renew his contract.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Despite its suggestive title, the pop star’s third album fails to depart from her well-worn production style and muted vocals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
He offered his famous ransom in the naive belief that, once paid off, the Spaniards would release him and depart.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Marc Skinner departs Manchester United with a win percentage of 60.84%
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
The Julian Casablancas-led band’s seventh album, produced by Rick Rubin, sharply departs from its alternative-rock sound, leaning into AutoTuned experimentation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Obviously with massive spoilers ahoy, here are eight of the biggest ways Nolan’s “Odyssey” departs from Homer’s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
According to several NBA news-breakers, including Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Warriors are attempting to sign James this offseason as he departs the Lakers.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
They converse for a moment, then Taryn departs.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
According to flight tracking data, the plane carrying Kinahan departed Dubai at 13:19 local time and is expected to land in Dublin before 19:00 local time on Sunday.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Doximity has made AI a bigger focus lately, although it lost some key executive talent last summer when Nate Gross, one of its co-founders, departed for OpenAI, where he now runs healthcare strategy.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
The best things had departed in the totes of people who knew what they were doing.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Prete asked Davies, a veteran game show producer who helped make “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” a hit, to oversee “Jeopardy!” on an interim basis after Richards departed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
From these instructions they were summoned by the arrival of the coach; and with many speeches of thankfulness on Mr. Collins’s side and as many bows on Sir William’s they departed.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Under the departing President Gustavo Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, the government embarked on simultaneous peace negotiations with about a dozen narco-trafficking groups to urge them to disarm and abandon drug smuggling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Newcastle United manager Matthias Jaissle says a decision about Bruno Guimaraes' future had already been taken by the time he first met the club's departing captain.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Noam Shazeer, who was the co-lead of Gemini, said he was departing for OpenAI, and John Jumper, a Nobel Prize winner, said he was moving to Anthropic.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
A Transportation Security Administration spokesperson did not answer specific questions about PS and would say only that the agency “screens all checked and carry-on baggage on commercial flights departing from LAX.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Though I really hate kids, the part I hate most about these parties is arriving and departing.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
