Dictionary

vacate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /vəˈkeɪt/ (uncommon)
• (US) audio
• /ˈveɪ.keɪt/
• /veɪˈkeɪt/

Etymology

Originally used in the legal sense "to annul", a denominal from Early Modern English vacat (“legal annulment”), a development from Middle English vacat (“absence or cancellation noted in a register”), from Latin vacat, third-person singular present active indicative of vacō (“to be idle; to be unoccupied”, literally “to be empty”). The primary modern sense "to move out" likely developed under the influence of older borrowing vacant (“unoccupied”), in combination with the Early Modern use of vacate to refer to the termination of official appointments to office, which would leave those position vacant.

Meanings

1. To move out of a dwelling or other property, either by choice or by eviction.
   • You are hereby ordered to vacate the premises within 14 days.
   • The dynamic tests at Wildenrath use continuous test tracks built on the site of a former Royal Air Force station that was vacated after the end of the Cold War. 2023 November 29, Philip Haigh, “New Piccadilly Line trains put to the test”, in RAIL, number 997, page 26:
   • I have to vacate my house by midday, as the new owner is moving in.
2. To leave an office or position.
   • He vacated his coaching position because of the corruption scandal.
3. (transitive) To have a court judgement set aside; to annul.
   • The judge vacated the earlier decision when new evidence was presented.
   • On Thursday, the New York court of appeals vacated his conviction after concluding that a trial judge permitted jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to the charges he faced. It also erased his 23-year prison sentence and ordered a retrial. 2024 April 27, Maya Yang, “Disgraced former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein hospitalized”, in The Observer, →ISSN:
4. To leave an area, usually as a result of orders from public authorities in the event of a riot or natural disaster.
   • If you do not immediately vacate the area, we will make you leave with tear gas!

Forms

Deriveds

evacate · unvacated · vacator · vacatable · revacate

Relateds

vacant · evacuate · vacation

Translations (27)

fi mitätöidä (to have court judgement set aside) · es dejar vacante (to leave an office) · mi whakatahi (to move out) · io vakuigar (to move out) · bg опразвам (to move out) · es desalojar (to move out) · fi muuttaa pois (to move out) · bg евакуирам се (to leave an area) · fi lähteä evakkoon (to leave an area) · ar نَحّى (to have court judgement set aside) · bg освобожда́вам (to move out) · ru освобожда́ть (to move out) · bg напускам (to leave an office) · mi whakatahi (to leave an area) · ar تَرَكَ (to leave an office) · bg опразвам (to leave an area) · ru освободи́ть (to move out) · es desalojar (to leave an area) · ca desllogar (to move out) · pt vagar (to move out) · ar أخْلَا (to move out) · pt vacar (to move out) · ar أبْطَلَ (to have court judgement set aside) · fi erota (to leave an office) · fi jättää virka (to leave an office) · hi ख़ाली करना (to move out) · es hacer vacar (to leave an office)