vacate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to give up possession or occupancy of.
to vacate an apartment.
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to give up or relinquish (an office, position, etc.).
She recently vacated her position as president of the organization.
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to render inoperative; deprive of validity; void; annul.
to vacate a legal judgment.
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to cause to be empty or unoccupied; make vacant.
to vacate one's mind of worries.
verb (used without object)
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to withdraw from occupancy; surrender possession.
We will have to vacate when our lease expires.
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to give up or leave a position, office, etc.
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to leave; go away.
verb
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to cause (something) to be empty, esp by departing from or abandoning it
to vacate a room
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(also intr) to give up the tenure, possession, or occupancy of (a place, post, etc); leave or quit
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law
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to cancel or rescind
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to make void or of no effect; annul
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Other Word Forms
- prevacate verb (used with object)
- revacate verb (used with object)
- vacatable adjective
Etymology
Origin of vacate
First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin vacātus, past participle of vacāre “to be empty”; vacuum
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.
Reports said that following the backlash, the university was asked to vacate its stall at the summit.
From BBC
The U.S. is rapidly winding down its own military presence in the country, vacating the strategic Al Tanf base last week and handing it over to the government.
Meanwhile, the personal catastrophe for Savannah Guthrie and her family led her to temporarily vacate her post as a staple of morning TV.
Chase noticed Nicole move over into the window seat vacated by the boy.
From Literature
On Tuesday, Homeboy Industries acquired the Monastery of the Angels, a hidden oasis in the Hollywood Hills where cloistered Dominican nuns lived for nearly 90 years before vacating the site in 2022.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
