vacate
Americanverb (used with object)
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vacates,
present (3rd person singular)
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vacated,
past participle, past
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vacating
present participle
-
to give up possession or occupancy of.
to vacate an apartment.
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to give up or relinquish (an office, position, etc.).
She recently vacated her position as president of the organization.
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to render inoperative; deprive of validity; void; annul.
to vacate a legal judgment.
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to cause to be empty or unoccupied; make vacant.
to vacate one's mind of worries.
verb (used without object)
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vacates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vacated,
past participle, past
-
vacating
present participle
-
to withdraw from occupancy; surrender possession.
We will have to vacate when our lease expires.
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to give up or leave a position, office, etc.
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to leave; go away.
verb
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to cause (something) to be empty, esp by departing from or abandoning it
to vacate a room
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(also intr) to give up the tenure, possession, or occupancy of (a place, post, etc); leave or quit
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law
-
to cancel or rescind
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to make void or of no effect; annul
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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vacatesimple
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vacatessimple
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have vacatedperfect
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has vacatedperfect
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am vacatingprogressive
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are vacatingprogressive
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is vacatingprogressive
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have been vacatingperfect progressive
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has been vacatingperfect progressive
Past
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vacatedsimple
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had vacatedperfect
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was vacatingprogressive
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were vacatingprogressive
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had been vacatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vacate
First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin vacātus, past participle of vacāre “to be empty”; cf. vacuum
Explanation
If someone asks you to vacate the room, you'd better pack up your things and go. When you vacate something, you leave it behind, usually empty. When you stay at a hotel, you're required to vacate the room at check-out time. The same goes for the last day of your lease on your apartment or after closing on the sale of your house. In all of these cases, you've got to get going and take all of your stuff with you. The verb vacate can also be used in conjunction with leaving a job, often an appointed office.
Vocabulary lists containing vacate
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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:
Seaver and his security company were subsequently served with a termination notice directing them to immediately vacate the Parton properties they had been tasked with protecting.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
But as they both vacate the striker position, United end up lacking bodies in the box when they play crosses in.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Sheriff’s deputies then help oversee the removal of encampments, and people who refuse to vacate after being offered services could be subject to arrest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Having a conviction thrown out is not enough to do so: A court can vacate someone’s conviction for a number of reasons, including an ineffective attorney or significant errors committed by the judge or prosecution.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
“Every year, the opossums and owls and such vacate the premises on Wishing Day. Strangest thing. It’s like they know what’s coming.”
From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate
Her home’s second unit has a long-term tenant, and Story vacates her own space when she gets a booking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Monday's decision vacates an earlier ruling by federal judge James Boasberg, later upheld by a federal appeals court, which had temporarily blocked the use of the law to carry out the deportations.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2025
South Korea’s constitution stipulates that the prime minister, then a descending order of Cabinet officials, can take over if the president vacates his position or is otherwise unable to carry out his duties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2024
The signing of Barr was the next step — an important piece for depth at the position Parsons vacates when he joins the defensive front.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2022
There is much to be said for the rule that acceptance of an office of profit under the Crown vacates a seat in the House of Commons.
From Rebuilding Britain A Survey of Problems of Reconstruction After the World War by Sir Alfred Hopkinson
Each week, he and his wife and three young sons would move into a dorm room that a Christian student had vacated for them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
After pursuing the lengthier sentence against Beaird and defending it on appeal, the federal government now argues that his sentence should be vacated so that he can pursue a more lenient term.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
In 2019, after another title was vacated, the trophy went missing until being discovered in 2021 in a trash bin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
When Oleksandr Usyk vacated the IBF title and Frank Sanchez agreed to step aside, Itauma's fight with Hrgovic was elevated into a world-title contest.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
With a thud Neel plunked down on the chair Headmaster had vacated, the chair crafted so lovingly by Baba, the chair that had carried him through those long, long hours of studying.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
It ended with those same players applauding a large swathe of empty seats, some vacating as early as the 49th minute when Michael Kayode put The Bees 3-0 up.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
"Under the settlement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered against TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly," the department said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Republican Tom Sell, the nominee in the West Texas seat that Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, is vacating, has millions of dollars worth of assets.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
Tenants who occupied the lower four floors are vacating, and a seismic upgrade will begin later this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
Craig, meanwhile, had enrolled at Princeton University, vacating his back-porch room on Euclid Avenue, leaving a six-foot-six, two-hundred-pound gap in our daily lives.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
