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vacate

[vey-keyt or, esp. British, vuh-keyt, vey-]
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verb (used with object), va·cat·ed, va·cat·ing.
  1. to give up possession or occupancy of: to vacate an apartment.
  2. to give up or relinquish (an office, position, etc.): to vacate the presidency of a firm.
  3. to render inoperative; deprive of validity; void; annul: to vacate a legal judgment.
  4. to cause to be empty or unoccupied; make vacant: to vacate one's mind of worries.
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verb (used without object), va·cat·ed, va·cat·ing.
  1. to withdraw from occupancy; surrender possession: We will have to vacate when our lease expires.
  2. to give up or leave a position, office, etc.
  3. to leave; go away.
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Origin of vacate

1635–45; < Latin vacātus past participle of vacāre to be empty; see -ate1
Related formsva·cat·a·ble, adjectivepre·va·cate, verb (used with object), pre·va·cat·ed, pre·va·cat·ing.re·va·cate, verb (used with object), re·va·cat·ed, re·va·cat·ing.un·va·cat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for vacated

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Mrs. Vansittart and Dorothy ascended the bank to the spot just vacated by White.

    Roden's Corner

    Henry Seton Merriman

  • Fyles was hooking his reins over the post Charlie had vacated.

    The Law-Breakers

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • Louise rose as he approached and motioned him to take her vacated place.

    The Avenger

    E. Phillips Oppenheim

  • Arizona had vacated his favorite seat, and was now holding the floor.

    The Night Riders

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • “I want to talk to you,” she said, pointing at the rocking-chair she had just vacated.

British Dictionary definitions for vacated

vacate

verb (mainly tr)
  1. to cause (something) to be empty, esp by departing from or abandoning itto vacate a room
  2. (also intr) to give up the tenure, possession, or occupancy of (a place, post, etc); leave or quit
  3. law
    1. to cancel or rescind
    2. to make void or of no effect; annul
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Derived Formsvacatable, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for vacated

vacate

v.

1640s, "to make void, to annul," from Latin vacatum, past participle of vacare "to be empty" (see vain). Meaning "to leave, give up, quit" (a place) is attested from 1791. Related: Vacated; vacating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper