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:
But "King James" announced on June 30 that he would depart the Lakers as a free agent, sparking a frenzy of speculation as to his next team.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Hull are keen on Leon Bailey but that may have to be an initial loan given the Tigers' own finances, while Evann Guessand can also depart.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Casemiro announced in January that he would depart Old Trafford at the end of the 2026-27 season following a mutual decision not to renew his contract.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Note: 2026 data through June; metrics reflect flights that depart within 15 minutes of their scheduled times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
As we depart, she says softly, “Perhaps the past isn’t such a lost country after all.”
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
The Julian Casablancas-led band’s seventh album, produced by Rick Rubin, sharply departs from its alternative-rock sound, leaning into AutoTuned experimentation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Obviously with massive spoilers ahoy, here are eight of the biggest ways Nolan’s “Odyssey” departs from Homer’s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
While Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe have scored regularly at this tournament, Salah departs with just one goal to show for his efforts.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
According to several NBA news-breakers, including Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Warriors are attempting to sign James this offseason as he departs the Lakers.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
The door opens and closes as Mr. Redfern departs, and I turn my attention to the sheriff.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
If, God forbid, Maddie should disappear — if Grande departed public life, as she’s now planning on — there would be a hole in Deena’s life.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
Doximity has made AI a bigger focus lately, although it lost some key executive talent last summer when Nate Gross, one of its co-founders, departed for OpenAI, where he now runs healthcare strategy.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
He had been named as Flutter Entertainment’s president, a newly created role, in May after Amy Howe departed as CEO of FanDuel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The rest of the Uganda squad have since departed for their home country.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
After they had raised the barrows, Gwystyl left to resume his guard at the way post; the companions, King Smoit, and his riders departed from the clearing and turned their horses toward the Great Avren.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
Under the departing President Gustavo Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, the government embarked on simultaneous peace negotiations with about a dozen narco-trafficking groups to urge them to disarm and abandon drug smuggling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Noam Shazeer, who was the co-lead of Gemini, said he was departing for OpenAI, and John Jumper, a Nobel Prize winner, said he was moving to Anthropic.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Second on the list was a West Midlands service from London Euston to Crewe, Cheshire, departing at 17:46, the government figures reveal.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Much about the grimy parts of Burning Man is left unmentioned, leaving it up to Redditors to gripe about sanitation pile-ups departing Burners leave in nearby towns.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
Before departing, he gave Westerberg a treasured 1942 edition of Tolstoys War and Peace.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
