depart

[dih-pahrt]

verb (used without object)

1. to go away; leave.

   She departed from Paris today. The train departs at 10:52.

   Antonyms: arrive

2. to diverge or deviate (usually followed byfrom ).

   The new method departs from the old in several respects.

3. to pass away, as from life or existence; die.

verb (used with object)

1. to go away from; leave.

   to depart this life.

   Synonyms: quit

noun

1. Archaic.,  departure; death.

depart

/ dɪˈpɑːt /

verb

1. to go away; leave

2. to start out; set forth

3. (usually foll by from) to deviate; differ; vary

   to depart from normal procedure

4. (tr) to quit (archaic, except in the phrase depart this life )

Other Word Forms

• undeparting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of depart¹

1175–1225; Middle English departen < Old French departir, equivalent to de- de- + partir to go away; part ( v. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of depart¹

C13: from Old French departir, from _de- + partir to go away, divide, from Latin partīrī to divide, distribute, from pars a part

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Earlier, the left-handed Jaiswal added just two to his overnight score before departing after the dramatic run out.

Read more on Barron's

By 6 p.m. on Monday, she had hopped into her car and departed from her hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

Read more on MarketWatch

Southers has been a member of the panel since 2023, when Mayor Karen Bass picked him to serve out the term of a departing commissioner.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But worker mobility and pay rose steadily even after the manager departed.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A wave of senior staff departed the agency when Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency offered buyouts, taking decades of experience with them.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abandon 
• blast off 
• disappear 
• escape 
• evacuate 
• exit 
• go 
• pull out 
• quit 
• remove 
• retire 
• vacate 
• withdraw