evacuate Hear it!

evacuate Definition

evacu·ate (ē vakyo̵̅o̅ āt′, i-)

transitive verb -·at′ed, -·at′·ing

  1. to make empty; remove the contents of; specif., to remove air from so as to make a vacuum
  2. to discharge (bodily waste, esp. feces)
    1. to remove (inhabitants, etc.) from (a place or area), as for protective purposes
    2. to give up military occupation of; withdraw from

Etymology: < L evacuatus, pp. of evacuare < e-, out + vacuare, to make empty < vacuus, empty

intransitive verb

  1. to withdraw, as from a besieged town or area of danger
  2. to discharge bodily waste, esp. feces

evacuate Related Forms
evacu·a′tive adjective evacu·a′tor noun
evacuate Synonyms

evacuate

v.

  1. To empty

    void, clear out, deplete, drain; see empty 2, remove 1.

  2. To withdraw from

    vacate, desert, leave, relocate; see abandon 2, leave 1.

evacuate Usage Examples

Object

  • casualty: Each team normally have an ambulance located on site to evacuate a casualty.
  • tube: In the evacuated tube type the absorber strip is located in an evacuated glass tube.
  • bowel: This is why the urge to evacuate the bowel commonly occurs following a meal.
  • troop: The 13,000 miguelite troops evacuated, however, Pedro was soon besieged himself.
  • thousand: Organizers at Down Royal halted the event after police evacuated thousands of people from the course in Hillsborough, Co Down.

Subject

  • stretcher: He was treated by team members and evacuated by stretcher.
  • helicopter: He was evacuated by helicopter to South Tyneside Hospital.
  • ambulance: The diver was evacuated by air ambulance to Aberdeen.

Modifying Another Word

  • forcibly: In 1955, the Alabama state government forcibly evacuated the town to make way for a dam.
  • safely: The main task for the British forces was to help evacuate safely the hundreds of British citizens who risked being trapped in Sierra Leone.
  • temporarily: The station was evacuated temporarily on 5 Dec 1967 after volcanic eruptions.
  • immediately: I went out, saw a red glow and immediately evacuated the pub.
  • quickly: Water could be seen pouring in and ceiling tiles falling, but the floor was evacuated quickly and nobody was hurt.
  • eventually: We soon stopped and were eventually evacuated in the opposite direction.

Used with why or when

  • when: On hearing a bell ringing intermittently occupants should get ready to evacuate, and must evacuate immediately when the alarm rings continuously ] .

Preposition: in

  • emergency: A team of explorers on a research mission are forced to evacuate in emergency, leaving their beloved dogs behind.

Preposition: by

  • stretcher: He was treated by team members and evacuated by stretcher.
  • helicopter: He was evacuated by helicopter to South Tyneside Hospital.
  • ambulance: The diver was evacuated by air ambulance to Aberdeen.

Browse dictionary entries near evacuate

  1. evacuant
  2. Eva
  3. EV-DO
  4. eV
  5. Euxine Sea
  6. euxenite
  7. eutrophic
  8. euthyroid
  9. euthenics
  10. euthanize
  1. evacuation
  2. evacuee
  3. evade
  4. evaginate
  5. evaluate
  6. evaluation
  7. Evan
  8. evanesce
  9. evanescence
  10. evanescent