displacement

American  

[dis-pleys-muhnt] / dɪsˈpleɪs mənt /

noun

displacements plural

1. the act of displacing.

2. the state of being displaced or the amount or degree to which something is displaced.

3. Psychology, Psychoanalysis. the transfer of an emotion from its original focus to another object, person, or situation.

4. Physics.

   1. the displacing in space of one mass by another.

   2. the weight or the volume of fluid displaced by a floating or submerged body.

   3. the linear or angular distance in a given direction between a body or point and a reference position.

   4. the distance of an oscillating body from its central position or point of equilibrium at any given moment.

5. Machinery, Automotive.

   1. the volume of the space through which a piston travels during a single stroke in an engine, pump, or the like.

   2. the total volume of the space traversed by all the pistons.

6. Nautical. the amount of water that a vessel displaces, expressed in displacement tons.

7. Geology. the offset of rocks caused by movement along a fault.

8. electric displacement.

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displacement British  

/ dɪsˈpleɪsmənt /

noun

1. the act of displacing or the condition of being displaced

2. the weight or volume displaced by a floating or submerged body in a fluid

3. chem another name for substitution

4. the volume displaced by the piston of a reciprocating pump or engine

5. psychoanal the transferring of emotional feelings from their original object to one that disguises their real nature

6. geology the distance any point on one side of a fault plane has moved in relation to a corresponding point on the opposite side

7. astronomy an apparent change in position of a body, such as a star

8.  s.  maths the distance measured in a particular direction from a reference point

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displacement Scientific  

/ dĭs-plās′mənt /

1. Chemistry A chemical reaction in which an atom, radical, or molecule replaces another in a compound.

2. Physics A vector, or the magnitude of a vector, that points from an initial position (of a body or reference frame) to a subsequent position.

3. The weight or volume of a fluid displaced by a floating body, used especially as a measurement of the weight or bulk of ships.

4. The volume displaced by a single stroke of a piston in an engine or pump.

5. Geology

   1. The relative movement between the two sides of a geologic fault.

   2. The distance between the two sides of a fault.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• predisplacement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• displacements
  plural

Etymology

Origin of displacement

First recorded in 1605–15; displace + -ment

Explanation

Displacement occurs when one party unfairly or inappropriately replaces another. If you arrive at work to find someone else sitting at your desk, you might want to complain to your boss about your recent displacement. Displacement can be a depressing topic, given that it often involves people being forced to leave somewhere where they belong. However, for a more cheerful take on this word, put your foot in the bathtub and watch the water level rise. Scientifically speaking, your foot is causing displacement of the water. It was this observation that led Archimedes to develop his famous principle about buoyancy (and, perhaps more famously, to run through the streets naked in celebration).

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

displacement displacements

Sonny D, an AI researcher who declined to provide his last name because of surveillance concerns, is involved with a group called AI Action that focuses on issues such as job displacement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Charles and Caroline mourn their part in that displacement; they set out for Kansas with the best of intentions, lured by false advertisements of “free” land that never was.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

This is far more than another wave of technological displacement, such as the shift from agriculture to industry, or from manufacturing to services.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

AI companies, he said, must provide a “recipe for how that can be done. Yes, it’s a lot of change management, it’s a lot of displacement, but there is a path,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

In a sound wave, then, there is no displacement wherever the air molecules are at a normal density.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

"We have not seen displacements like this for the last two decades," she added.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

Economists cite several explanations, including contraction in the entertainment industry, displacements caused by artificial intelligence and overall uncertainty in the national economy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025

This may not prove true for the displacements AI is beginning to trigger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025

Many of these issues are destined to continue or even get worse, because climate events, food insecurity and displacements are likely to drive more conflict.

From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2024

Even for Barnard’s Star, the investigation must be painstaking, a search for microscopic displacements of position on photographic plates exposed at the telescope over a period of decades.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan