evict
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to expel (a person, especially a tenant) from land, a building, etc., by legal process, as for nonpayment of rent.
- Synonyms:
- dislodge, dispossess, remove, eject
-
to throw or force out, as from a place, organization, or position.
He was evicted from office by a populist revolution.
-
to recover (property, titles, etc.) by virtue of superior legal title.
verb
-
to expel (a tenant) from property by process of law; turn out
-
to recover (property or the title to property) by judicial process or by virtue of a superior title
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
evictsimple
-
evictssimple
-
have evictedperfect
-
has evictedperfect
-
am evictingprogressive
-
are evictingprogressive
-
is evictingprogressive
-
have been evictingperfect progressive
-
has been evictingperfect progressive
Past
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evictedsimple
-
had evictedperfect
-
was evictingprogressive
-
were evictingprogressive
-
had been evictingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of evict
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English evicten, from Late Latin ēvictus “having recovered one's property by law,” Latin: past participle of ēvincere “to overcome, conquer, evince,” equivalent to ē- “from, out of; thoroughly” + vic- (past participle stem of vincere “to conquer”) + -tus past participle suffix; see evince, e- 1, victor
Explanation
Use the verb evict to say that a tenant is being forced to move out of his home, usually through legal action. If you don't pay your rent, eventually your landlord will evict you. Evict became part of the English language back in the 1530s. Based on the Latin word evincere, meaning "recover property, overcome and expel, conquer," even then it had a legal process attached to it. Before you evict someone, you have to complete official paperwork, though some landlords may succeed in evicting tenants without following the legal steps.
Vocabulary lists containing evict
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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:
Now, the Indian government wants to evict the club, which has come under increasing criticism for its British colonial-era traditions and trappings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
After 10 years, how can she evict him?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
About six months later, Vivos sought to evict him, citing a rule against brandishing firearms—a rule added after he signed his lease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
In 2023, the owners of the massive 712-unit Westside complex attempted to evict every single resident in order to install fire sprinklers and safety upgrades.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
As much as he might have wanted to evict Claudette, he hesitated to bully a pregnant woman.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
She added that before Plymouth evicts any tenants, it works with tenants to get them on a payment plan or other methods to pay off their debt.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
Anti-eviction activists stick a banner reading "Sareb evicts" against a wall as they wait for an eviction in Madrid, Spain, October 14, 2016.
From Reuters ● Apr. 5, 2022
“They’re worried, because if someone evicts them, where are they gonna go?”
From Washington Times ● Sep. 5, 2020
In a suggestive afterword, the novel’s translator, Naomi Lebowitz, notes how Per “restlessly evicts himself” from all those places which could offer him refuge.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 14, 2019
“I’m just saying, the Beiderman should be a man and show his face to us at least one time before he evicts us. We need an explanation!”
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Today, Wahhoga Village includes a traditional roundhouse, traditional cedar bark houses known as umachas and the only cabin that the park service didn’t burn when it evicted the remaining families from the site in 1969.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
But Palestinians to whom AFP spoke feared being evicted entirely.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
They hired lawyers, but by early this year Ingalls and the others were all evicted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
The council did not state that the first lady had been evicted, as has been reported in some media.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
They were evicted from the boarding house two days later, and had to find a bridge to sleep under, but were soon rousted by the stadwatch.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Now that same board is evicting Aust and nearly 100 other patients from the Silverado Beach Cities Memory Care Community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Under the new law, the grounds for evicting tenants are significantly tightened up.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
Phoenix-area real-estate agent Neil Brooks said when his clients are considering renting out their homes, he encourages them to think through scenarios like evicting a tenant or getting sued.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
He says she was working on evicting her son before she left on a midsummer trip to Norway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
“It’s Mr. Beiderman, and he’s not evicting us. He’s not renewing our lease,” Mama said.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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.
