vacate

verb

vacated; vacating

transitive verb

1
a
: to deprive of an incumbent or occupant
b
: to give up the incumbency or occupancy of
2
: to make legally void : annul

intransitive verb

: to vacate an office, post, or tenancy

Examples of vacate in a Sentence

She refused to vacate her post even under increased pressure. The election will fill the congressional seat vacated by the retiring senator. The police told everyone to vacate the premises. Students must vacate their rooms at the end of the semester. The court vacated the conviction.
Recent Examples on the Web Since then, Todd's sentence has been reduced by two years and Julie's appeal was granted, with her sentence vacated after federal judges ruled her case had insufficient evidence. Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 1 Sep. 2024 Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner won a nail-biter runoff Tuesday to become the Democratic nominee for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, a seat vacated by the late Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, the Texas Tribune reports. Kizzy Cox, Essence, 16 Aug. 2024 He was released on bond in July 2023 after a judge vacated a 1975 judgment and sentence at the request of the Oklahoma County district attorney. Amy Simonson, CNN, 15 Aug. 2024 Geier is one of three candidates vying for the District 5 seat that's being vacated by longtime board member Carol Cook. Kathryn Varn, Axios, 13 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for vacate 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vacate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin vacātus, past participle of vacāre "to annul," going back to Latin, "to be empty, have space" (sense probably by confusion with Medieval Latin vacuāre "to annul," going back to Latin, "to empty," derivative of vacuus "empty") — more at vacant, vacuum entry 1

First Known Use

1643, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of vacate was in 1643

Dictionary Entries Near vacate

Cite this Entry

“Vacate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vacate. Accessed 17 Sep. 2024.

Kids Definition

vacate

verb
vacated; vacating
: to leave vacant

Legal Definition

vacate

verb
va·​cate
vacated; vacating

transitive verb

1
: to make void : annul, set aside
vacate a lower court order
2
a
: to make vacant
b
: to give up the occupancy of

intransitive verb

: to vacate an office, post, or tenancy

More from Merriam-Webster on vacate

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