# departing

/dɪˈpɑɹtɪŋ/ (US) · /dɪpˈɑːtɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/departing
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. leaving a place or job

adjective · CEFR B2

describing someone who is leaving a position or a place right now.

For teachers: describing an individual or entity currently in the process of leaving a location, role, or organization.

- The departing manager gave a short speech to the team on her last day.
- The departing passengers were asked to have their boarding passes ready for the final security check before entering the tunnel.

### 2. the act of leaving

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

the act of going away from a place.

For teachers: the action or instance of leaving or setting out; a gerundial use denoting the process of departure.

- Their sudden departing in the middle of the night surprised everyone.
- The swift departing of the fleet under the cover of darkness was a strategic move to avoid detection by enemy scouts.

### 3. leaving (present participle)

verb · CEFR B1

the '-ing' form of the verb 'depart', used to show an action happening now.

For teachers: the present participle of 'depart', used in progressive tenses or as a participial adjective to indicate ongoing movement away from a point.

- The train is departing from platform four in five minutes.
- By departing earlier than scheduled, the expedition managed to bypass the heavy snowstorms that typically block the mountain pass in late autumn.

## Examples

- The departing flight leaves from gate twelve.
- The departing passengers gathered their luggage and moved toward the security checkpoint.
- The departing CEO gave a final speech to the board, outlining her vision for the company's future before her successor took over the following morning.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.