evacuate

[ih-vak-yoo-eyt]

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verb (used with object), e·vac·u·at·ed, e·vac·u·at·ing.

to leave empty; vacate.

to remove (persons or things) from a place, as a dangerous place or disaster area, for reasons of safety or protection: to evacuate the inhabitants of towns in the path of a flood.

to remove persons from (a city, town, building, area, etc.) for reasons of safety: to evacuate the embassy after a bomb threat.

Military.

to remove (troops, wounded soldiers, civilians, etc.) from a war zone, combat area, etc.
to withdraw from or quit (a town, fort, etc., that has been occupied).

Physiology. to discharge or eject as through the excretory passages, especially from the bowels.

to deprive: Fear evacuated their minds of reason.

to produce a vacuum in.

verb (used without object), e·vac·u·at·ed, e·vac·u·at·ing.

to leave a place because of military or other threats.

to void; defecate.

Origin of evacuate

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin ēvacuātus (past participle of ēvacuāre to empty out, equivalent to ē- e-¹ + vacuāre to empty); see vacuum, -ate¹

Related formsre·e·vac·u·ate, verb, re·e·vac·u·at·ed, re·e·vac·u·at·ing.un·e·vac·u·at·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for evacuate

depart, expel, displace, remove, leave, vacate, withdraw, abandon, discharge, desert, relinquish, quit, hightail, eject, decamp, forsake

Examples from the Web for evacuate

Contemporary Examples of evacuate

But where do you evacuate to, when the world is about to end?
The Stacks: How The Berlin Wall Inspired John le Carré’s First Masterpiece
John le Carré
November 8, 2014
De Merode was ordered to evacuate the national park he served at the time.
A Belgian Prince, Gorillas, Guerrillas & the Future of the Congo
Nina Strochlic
November 6, 2014
He was helping to evacuate people from the stricken North Tower when the second plane hit.
The President and the Tow Truck Driver
Michael Daly
September 25, 2014
There is no plan as of yet to evacuate Dr. Brantly to a Western facility, Isaacs said.
Two Americans Have Now Been Diagnosed With Ebola in Record Outbreak
Kent Sepkowitz
July 28, 2014
Earlier this month, the friendliest of them, 31-year-old Denis, told us they were given very short notice to evacuate Sloviansk.
I Was Snatched at the MH17 ‘Morgue’
Anna Nemtsova
July 21, 2014

Historical Examples of evacuate

It'll take all of forty minutes to evacuate, and the Mercutians may be on us by then.
Slaves of Mercury
Nat Schachner
On November 11, 1914, the Serbians were compelled to evacuate this city.
The Story of the Great War, Volume II (of VIII)
Various
On the other hand, they were forced to evacuate some of their positions east of Kiselin.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VI (of VIII)
Various
Remember, Dr. Harris, we've got to evacuate the city first of all!
One-Shot
James Benjamin Blish
The despatch reached the French just as they were preparing to evacuate Cairo.
At Aboukir and Acre
George Alfred Henty

British Dictionary definitions for evacuate

evacuate

verb (mainly tr)

(also intr) to withdraw or cause to withdraw from (a place of danger) to a place of greater safety

to make empty by removing the contents of

(also intr) physiol

to eliminate or excrete (faeces); defecate
to discharge (any waste product) from (a part of the body)

(tr) to create a vacuum in (a bulb, flask, reaction vessel, etc)

Derived Formsevacuation, nounevacuative, adjectiveevacuator, noun

Word Origin for evacuate

C16: from Latin ēvacuāre to void, from vacuus empty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for evacuate

1520s, from Latin evacuatus, past participle of evacuare "to empty, make void, nullify," used by Pliny in reference to the bowels, used figuratively in Late Latin for "clear out," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + vacuus "empty" (see vacuum).

Earliest sense in English is medical. Meaning "remove inhabitants to safer ground" is from 1934. Replaced Middle English evacuen (c.1400). Related: Evacuated; evacuating.

evacuate in Medicine

evacuate

[ĭ-văk′yōō-āt′]

v.

To empty or remove the contents of.

To excrete or discharge waste matter, especially of the bowels.