Definition

1. Verb:
   • To leave a place, making it empty: To move out of a location, such as a room, building, or seat, so that it becomes unoccupied.
   • To formally give up or leave a job, position, or office: To resign from or relinquish a post.
   • (Law) To annul or cancel a legal order or judgment: To officially declare a previous legal decision, such as a court order or contract, to be no longer valid or in effect.

Examples of Usage

• Verb (Leave a place):

  • Guests must vacate their hotel rooms by 11 a.m.
  • The judge ordered the protesters to vacate the premises immediately.

• Verb (Leave a position):

  • She decided to vacate her position on the board after ten years of service.
  • The scandal forced the minister to vacate his office.

• Verb (Annul legally):

  • The appellate court voted to vacate the lower court's ruling.
  • The contract was vacated due to fraudulent activity.

Advanced Usage

• "to vacate the field": To withdraw from a competition or area of activity, leaving it to others.

  • After the merger, the smaller company vacated the field to its new competitor.

• "to have a judgment vacated": A legal phrase meaning to have a court's previous decision officially set aside or canceled.

  • The defendant's lawyer filed a motion to have the conviction vacated.

Variants and Related Words

• Vacant (adj): Empty; not occupied.

  • The apartment has been vacant for months.

• Vacation (n): A period of leisure and rest away from one's usual work or residence. (Note: While related etymologically, "vacation" is a distinct noun and not a direct variant of the verb "vacate".)

Synonyms

• Leave: To go away from a place.
• Evacuate: To remove persons from a place of danger; more urgent than "vacate".
• Resign: To voluntarily leave a job or position.
• Quit: To leave a job, place, or stop an activity.
• Annul: To declare invalid (legal context).
• Revoke: To officially cancel (legal context).

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Vacate" is not commonly used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. Its meanings are typically expressed directly.)

Related Idioms

• "Nature abhors a vacuum": This proverb, while not containing the word "vacate", relates to the concept of emptiness left behind when something is vacated. It means an empty space will not remain unfilled for long.

Verb

1. cancel officially
   • He revoked the ban on smoking
   • lift an embargo
   • vacate a death sentence
2. leave behind empty; move out of
   • You must vacate your office by tonight
3. leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily
   • She vacated the position when she got pregnant
   • The chairman resigned when he was found to have misappropriated funds