vacate

verb

va·​cate ˈvā-ˌkāt  vā-ˈkāt 

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

Synonyms of vacate

• abolish
• cancel
• repeal
• overturn
• avoid
• rescind

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

The report noted that seven Miami-Dade building officials did not submit information to the state, and analysts said Aventura did not respond to questions about whether any buildings had been vacated. — David Smiley, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026

Cooper vacated his previous order that directed the Kennedy Center to submit the report to the court by July 31 or within seven days of a July board meeting, noting the Kennedy Center had pushed back its board meeting to the first half of August. — Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

The meeting came days after the city inadvertently told tenants to vacate their homes. — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 25 July 2026

Subramanian granted the request to vacate the NDO, a court filing shows. — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 24 July 2026

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

Rhymes for vacate

• placate

Kids Definition

vacate

verb

va·​cate ˈvā-ˌkāt  vā-ˈkāt 

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