evict
Americanverb (used with object)
-
evicts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
evicted,
past participle, past
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evicting
present participle
-
to expel (a person, especially a tenant) from land, a building, etc., by legal process, as for nonpayment of rent.
- Synonyms:
- dislodge, dispossess, remove, eject
-
to throw or force out, as from a place, organization, or position.
He was evicted from office by a populist revolution.
-
to recover (property, titles, etc.) by virtue of superior legal title.
verb
-
to expel (a tenant) from property by process of law; turn out
-
to recover (property or the title to property) by judicial process or by virtue of a superior title
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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evictsimple
-
evictssimple
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have evictedperfect
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has evictedperfect
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am evictingprogressive
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are evictingprogressive
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is evictingprogressive
-
have been evictingperfect progressive
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has been evictingperfect progressive
Past
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evictedsimple
-
had evictedperfect
-
was evictingprogressive
-
were evictingprogressive
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had been evictingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of evict
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English evicten, from Late Latin ēvictus “having recovered one's property by law,” Latin: past participle of ēvincere “to overcome, conquer, evince,” equivalent to ē- “from, out of; thoroughly” + vic- (past participle stem of vincere “to conquer”) + -tus past participle suffix; see evince, e- 1, victor
Explanation
Use the verb evict to say that a tenant is being forced to move out of his home, usually through legal action. If you don't pay your rent, eventually your landlord will evict you. Evict became part of the English language back in the 1530s. Based on the Latin word evincere, meaning "recover property, overcome and expel, conquer," even then it had a legal process attached to it. Before you evict someone, you have to complete official paperwork, though some landlords may succeed in evicting tenants without following the legal steps.
Vocabulary lists containing evict
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The Stars Beneath Our Feet
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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:
You cannot evict a man from a house he has built himself.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Landlords can also visit at any time, without warning, and evict residents without giving a reason.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
After 10 years, how can she evict him?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
Durazo has authored successful legislation in Sacramento to close loopholes that make it easier for landlords to evict tenants and introduced legislation to create a tax credit for businesses that hire homeless people.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
“Paine, you didn’t need to escape. They were getting ready to evict you.”
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
She added that before Plymouth evicts any tenants, it works with tenants to get them on a payment plan or other methods to pay off their debt.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
Anti-eviction activists stick a banner reading "Sareb evicts" against a wall as they wait for an eviction in Madrid, Spain, October 14, 2016.
From Reuters ● Apr. 5, 2022
With over $6,000 in back rent and late fees to pay, she’s not sure where they will go if her landlord evicts them.
From New York Times ● Jul. 31, 2021
In a suggestive afterword, the novel’s translator, Naomi Lebowitz, notes how Per “restlessly evicts himself” from all those places which could offer him refuge.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 14, 2019
“I’m just saying, the Beiderman should be a man and show his face to us at least one time before he evicts us. We need an explanation!”
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
"I want it to encourage people to fight and to help change the laws that have allowed me to be evicted," she added in the video, posted by the tenants' union.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
We created a floor under which you could owe rent but not be evicted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
On top of that, Roebuck’s son had recently evicted Jeramy from a house he owned.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Under Western pressure, the East German and Hungarian security services evicted him from Eastern Europe, and he turned to Syria for refuge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
It’s been such a long time since I last got evicted.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
We also created a database mandate where landlords had to tell the city when they were evicting someone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Baek's home burnt down in a recent blaze, evicting him to a life in temporary shelter.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Under the new law, the grounds for evicting tenants are significantly tightened up.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
He says she was working on evicting her son before she left on a midsummer trip to Norway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
“It’s Mr. Beiderman, and he’s not evicting us. He’s not renewing our lease,” Mama said.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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.
