Definition

1. Verb (transitive):

   • To remove people from a dangerous place to a safer location: The primary meaning refers to the organized movement of people away from a threat, such as a natural disaster, war, or accident.
   • To empty a place of its occupants or contents: This can refer to clearing a building, area, or container.
   • To discharge or excrete waste from the body: A formal or medical term for the elimination of bodily waste.
   • To create a vacuum; to remove air or contents from a closed space: A technical use in physics or chemistry.

2. Verb (intransitive):

   • To leave or withdraw from a place, especially due to danger: Describes the action of people moving to safety.

Usage Examples

• Verb (transitive):

  • The authorities decided to evacuate the coastal town before the hurricane made landfall.
  • Firefighters helped evacuate the elderly residents from the burning building.
  • The doctor said the medicine will help evacuate the bowels.
  • To prepare the experiment, you must first evacuate the chamber of all air.

• Verb (intransitive):

  • When the alarm sounded, everyone evacuated quickly and calmly.

Advanced Usage

• "to evacuate to [a place]": To move people to a specific safer location.

  • The villagers were evacuated to a school gymnasium several miles inland.

• "to evacuate from [a place]": To leave a specific dangerous location.

  • Thousands evacuated from the city center following the chemical spill.

Variants and Related Words

• Evacuation (n): The process of evacuating or the state of being evacuated.

  • The evacuation was carried out with remarkable efficiency.

• Evacuee (n): A person who is evacuated from a dangerous place.

  • The evacuees received food and shelter at the relief center.

Synonyms

• Clear (v): To remove people from an area. (e.g., )
• Empty (v): To remove the contents of a place. (e.g., )
• Withdraw (v): To pull out from a location. (e.g., )
• Discharge (v): (Medical) To emit or release. (e.g., )

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Evacuate" is not commonly used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. The prepositions "to" and "from" are used as shown in Advanced Usage.)

Related Idioms

• "Evacuate the premises": A formal instruction to leave a building or area immediately.
  • Security ordered everyone to evacuate the premises due to a bomb threat.

Verb

1. excrete or discharge from the body
2. create a vacuum in (a bulb, flask, reaction vessel)
3. move people from their homes or country
4. empty completely
   • evacuate the bottle
5. move out of an unsafe location into safety
   • After the earthquake, residents were evacuated