relocate
Americanverb (used with object)
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relocates,
present (3rd person singular)
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relocated,
past participle, past
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relocating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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relocates,
present (3rd person singular)
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relocated,
past participle, past
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relocating
present participle
verb
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to move or be moved to a new place, esp (of an employee, a business, etc) to a new area or place of employment
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(intr) (of an employee, a business, etc) to move for reasons of business to a new area or place of employment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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relocatesimple
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relocatessimple
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have relocatedperfect
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has relocatedperfect
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am relocatingprogressive
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are relocatingprogressive
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is relocatingprogressive
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have been relocatingperfect progressive
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has been relocatingperfect progressive
Past
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relocatedsimple
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had relocatedperfect
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was relocatingprogressive
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were relocatingprogressive
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had been relocatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of relocate
Explanation
When you relocate, you move to a new location and settle into a new place. If you live in New York City but you get a job in Phoenix, you'll have to relocate to Arizona to start your new career. The word relocate came into English in the 1800s from re, meaning "back, again," and locate, meaning "to settle." Relocate refers not only to moving to a new place but also to establishing yourself there. It typically involves finding a new place to live, making new friends, finding your way around your new town or city — even getting cable TV installed. For some people, this can be an exciting adventure; for others, it's a daunting challenge of to-do lists.
Vocabulary lists containing relocate
"When Cultures Meet"
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Word Generation Weekly - Series 1
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
It has accommodated countless graduations, and Long Beach City College and numerous area high schools will have to relocate their commencement ceremonies during construction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Prince Harry and Meghan plan to relocate from the US to a private, non-royal residence outside London, with their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, enrolled to start at school in September.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Seattle company plans to cut about 120 technology workers, according to the company, after those staff declined to relocate to Nashville, where a new corporate office is being built.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
In the coming weeks, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will reportedly relocate just in time for Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, to begin school in September.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
As far as Jefferson and Madison were concerned, only Congress could relocate itself, and it could do this only after it officially convened in Philadelphia.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Get this—even if a company lays off or relocates a worker to another state, the health plan would still have to pay the tax.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Qiu's research suggests pollution is shifting west as heavy industry relocates to regions like Xinjiang, and that some cities in China have seen double-digit percentage increases in PM2.5 in the last five years.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
The other key question is what’s going to happen to the Sundance Film Festival once it relocates to Boulder in 2027.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
In the winter, she relocates to the outskirts of Dehradun, near the Himalayan foothills.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2024
General Douglas MacArthur, the officer in charge of the United States Army Forces in the Far East, abandons his home in Manila and relocates to the fortified island of Corregidor.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
In 1585, they relocated to the area after Spanish forces forced them from their earlier home, which was probably situated between present-day Payne's Prairie and Orange Lake.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
In a rescue mission on Wednesday, amphibian and reptile experts found dead wildlife, but also some survivors which were collected and relocated.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Under Niccol, Starbucks has scrutinized its store base, closing locations that haven’t performed financially, don’t provide the right store environment or should be relocated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
With the move, Schultz joins a growing list of billionaires who have relocated to Florida in recent months.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Royal scouted the city jail for runaways the lawyer might defend, ran messages between enigmatic persons, and distributed funds from antislavery societies to relocated fugitives.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
A judge blocked the Trump administration from relocating FBI headquarters to which federal office facility?
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
We love our 10-acre farmstead, but also often talk about moving outside the U.S. or relocating somewhere stateside, but don’t know if we can afford that.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Despite the suffering and challenges of relocating his hives to an unfamiliar landscape, Al-Dabba said he found "hope after seeing the bees coexist and adapt".
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Ellison has told people close to him that while he doesn’t want to move, relocating could help cover the cost of the ticking fee, a person with knowledge of his thinking said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
“No, we’re relocating closer to your mother’s house.”
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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.
