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)
-
relocated,
past participle, past
-
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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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:
Carmarthenshire Council issued Wale with an enforcement notice alleging he had broken planning rules, but he has been given more time to relocate the animals.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Not that many people want coffee table art books,” said Margit Novack, founding president of the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers, a professional group helping older adults organize, declutter, downsize and relocate.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Russian forces have edged close to the city's eastern fringes, which has prompted calls for the civilians who remain to relocate to safer regions of Ukraine.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The company is headquartered in Irvine but has plans to relocate its corporate offices back to Baldwin Park by 2029.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
Little kids danced in the closed-off street while volunteers tried to relocate them to the sidewalk.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Prince Harry, who relocates back to Britain shortly with his family, will open a new chapter in his ever-eventful life which once seemed improbable amid royal feuds, battles over security and lawsuits against UK tabloids.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
If a family relocates, say, for a better job, they can carry their assistance with them within a given region.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
In the new show, Reagan relocates to Boston and eventually teams up with Det.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025
Ghost of Yōtei relocates the action a few hundred miles north, to the Honshū region, and the setting a few hundred years later, to 1603.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
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
After sitting idle for months at a maintenance facility, it relocated in early July to waters off a strip of coastline known as the Kalma Peninsula.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Marcia Kaiser, 76, and her husband relocated from Bergen County, N.J., to South Orange, N.J., in 2020 to be closer to one of their daughters and two grandchildren.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
His wife, who is separated from him, lived in their Manhattan apartment until 2023, when she relocated to her own apartment in Miami Beach, records show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
After the visit, the child was relocated to China, prosecutors said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
That same year, once we thought the girls were old enough, we all relocated to Bluefield, Virginia, so Jimmie wouldn’t have to do so much driving.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
That the orangutan's original habitats had been burned and fragmented to the point they could no longer sustain the primates was the main driving factor behind relocating them, Yiara said.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Klitschko said residents with friends or relatives outside Kyiv should consider temporarily relocating -- repeating a suggestion that had triggered a backlash last year.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Such changes will vary in cost and might mean adding a stairlift, better lighting, handrails, nonslip surfaces, a safer bathroom or even relocating a bedroom to the main floor.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Expand has said relocating will allow it to be closer to other energy companies and customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
White knew that relocating to Oklahoma would be a great burden to his family.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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