evicted; evicting; evicts

transitive verb

1
a
: to recover (property) from a person by legal process
b
: to put (a tenant) out by legal process
2
: to force out : expel
eviction noun
evictor noun
Choose the Right Synonym for evict

eject, expel, oust, evict mean to drive or force out.

eject carries an especially strong implication of throwing or thrusting out from within as a physical action.

ejected an obnoxious patron from the bar

expel stresses a thrusting out or driving away especially permanently which need not be physical.

a student expelled from college

oust implies removal or dispossession by power of the law or by force or compulsion.

police ousted the squatters

evict chiefly applies to turning out of house and home.

evicted for nonpayment of rent

Examples of evict in a Sentence

His landlord has threatened to evict him if he doesn't pay the rent soon. They were evicted from their apartment.
Recent Examples on the Web California Efforts brewing at UC Riverside and UCLA to evict Starbucks from campuses for ‘union busting’ activities Jan. 31, 2024 The plaintiffs are frequent customers of Starbucks, according to Gibson. Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 The city of San Diego moved to evict most tenants from structures in 1987. Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024 The family had been evicted and was running out of time to find another place to live. Aidan Gardiner, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 The nephew ultimately washed his hands of the situation and sold the house to the Landa family in Oct. 2023, at which point the family assumed the task of evicting Flores. Peter Aitken, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2024 And the actors’ long-term goals are aligned: once its war in Ukraine reaches a lower intensity, Moscow also wants the United States to be evicted from the Middle East. Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 14 Feb. 2024 The man described Floyd as a blind senior who was close to being evicted. Alexandra Duggan, Idaho Statesman, 14 Feb. 2024 Miami-Dade County has evicted the operators of the Miami Seaquarium after local officials allege the company broke its lease several times by improperly maintaining the grounds and treating the animals poorly. Ayana Archie, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024 Carboni was among a swell of officers called to the family’s house the evening of March 22, 2023, amid reports that a mother and her two boys — ages 18 and 7 — were being held hostage by a neighbor who had recently been evicted from a nearby apartment. Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'evict.' 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

Middle English, from Late Latin evictus, past participle of evincere, from Latin, to vanquish, win a point — more at evince

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of evict was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near evict

Cite this Entry

“Evict.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evict. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

evict

verb
: to put (a person) out from property by legal action
eviction noun
evictor noun

Legal Definition

evict

transitive verb
: to put (a tenant) out of property by force, by virtue of a paramount title, or especially by legal process
Etymology

Medieval Latin evictus, past participle of evincere to recover (property) by legal process, from Latin, to vanquish, regain possession of

More from Merriam-Webster on evict

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