evict
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
- evictee noun
- eviction noun
- evictor noun
- reevict verb (used with object)
- unevicted adjective
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; evince, e- 1, victor
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.
Though they typically only operate in the Tahoe area, a few of their members went to Altadena to help a homeowner struggling to evict a 550-pound bear from underneath his home.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026
The U.S. military made strenuous efforts to distance itself from Israel when it mounted its Desert Storm campaign in 1991 to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026
Shvo, in turn, denied the allegations, and has sought to evict Core for allegedly failing to pay rent.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026
If this were a tenant whom you didn’t know, you would evict them and pull your hair out over how anyone could feel so entitled as to take something for nothing.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 6, 2026
Two years ago, she had tried to evict them on the pretext that relatives from China were coming to live there.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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.
