Word a Day
vacate
What does vacate mean?
vacate (verb): to move out of a dwelling or other property, either by choice or by eviction.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you use vacate in a sentence?
- I have to vacate my house by midday, as the new owner is moving in. (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where does vacate come from?
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”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “vacate”?
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What does “vacate” mean?
to purify; reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; to free from impurities
Not quite: that's what refine means.
to move out of a dwelling or other property, either by choice or by eviction
Right! That's what “vacate” means.
to wave or nod to somebody with the intention to make the person come closer
Not quite: that's what beckon means.
to allow or cause (someone or something) to be free; to set free, to release
Not quite: that's what liberate means.
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