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
-
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:
“Framework-wise, the Ministry verifies with the countries from which flights depart that the airlines’ pilots undergo background security checks in accordance with international regulation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
She was detained by the FBI at Los Angeles International Airport "attempting to depart for China" on Sunday, he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
Medical helicopter flights land and depart not from the airport but from a separate location: a heliport on Pebbly Beach, just steps from the ocean.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Earlier this month, a dinghy which had launched from near Cherbourg in the Bay of the Seine - further west than boats normally depart - was brought ashore in Hampshire, triggering protests in Portsmouth.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Daisy, Daisy Hempstock...to obtain his flower and to depart, for, truth to tell, the young lady was making him exceedingly uncomfortable.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
Messi departs as the record appearance-maker and goal-scorer for Argentina but will continue his club career with Major League Soccer team Inter Miami.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Andrew Tulloch departs Meta less than a year after he was offered a billion-dollar pay package.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Plus, Permira raises nearly $11 billion in a first close of its latest flagship fund and Blackstone’s head of real estate departs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Marc Skinner departs Manchester United with a win percentage of 60.84%
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
By the time Herr Thiessen departs the circus, motivated solely by exhaustion, he is completely and utterly besotted.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
The toy maker faces a falling stock, a departed CEO, and shareholder activists pushing for a sale.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Speaking to reporters as he departed for Nebraska on Monday, Trump said the US had known of a "threat", which led them to move the bombers.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
In the first weeks of the conflict, dozens of planes landed at or departed from Dubai International Airport within five minutes of warnings of missile or drone attacks, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Jesus departed after the season to take the national team job.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
He experienced its wavering progress as it departed his hand.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
At the trench assault in Indonesia, soldiers said their Stryker armored vehicle had been outfitted with a Starshield terminal—SpaceX’s military version of its Starlink satellite internet service—just days before departing for the drills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
In another painting of soldiers departing, a woman sits stoically in a train station—she seems to either have just said goodbye or is preparing to.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Also departing was writer Martin Herlihy, the second member of the Please Don’t Destroy video trio to exit, leaving only Ben Marshall, who’s listed as a featured player.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
It reported that 267 departing flights were delayed today, while a further 257 flights destined for Newark were also delayed.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
The only sound was the rumble of a departing tram.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
