Word
evacuate
Phoneticsevac·u·ate
US/iˈvækjəˌeɪt/
UK/ɪvˈækjuːˌeɪt/
Definitions
01to move people to safety
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to move people away from a dangerous place to a safer one.
v. to remove people from a place of danger to a safe location. Transitive in this sense, taking the people or the location as the object.
日本語:避難する※
“The police had to evacuate the entire street after they found an old bomb.”
“Emergency services worked through the night to evacuate residents from the coastal villages before the storm surge reached its peak.”
Pitfall
The police evacuated the people from the building.
The police evacuated the building.
While you can evacuate people, it is more common in formal reports to evacuate the place itself.
02to leave a dangerous place
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to leave a place because it is no longer safe to stay there.
v. to withdraw from or quit a place, especially in response to a threat or order. Often used intransitively.
日本語:避難する※
“When the fire alarm rang, everyone evacuated the office in a calm way.”
“Thousands were forced to evacuate as the wildfire spread rapidly through the dry timber toward the edge of the town.”
03to empty a container
C1 · Advanced Science Technical
v. to remove all the air or liquid from a container.
v. to create a vacuum or remove the contents of a vessel or container. Frequently used in engineering and physics contexts.
日本語:排出する※
“The technician used a pump to evacuate the air from the glass tube.”
“Before the experiment could begin, the chamber had to be fully evacuated to ensure no atmospheric gases interfered with the laser.”
Antonyms
04to empty the bowels
C2 · Proficiency Medicine Formal · Technical
v. to pass waste from the body.
v. to discharge waste matter from the body, particularly from the bowels. Highly formal or clinical in register.
“The patient was unable to evacuate his bowels without medical help.”
“Post-operative monitoring included ensuring the patient could evacuate their bladder independently before being cleared for discharge.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “evacuate” in context.
Verb
01. evacuate residents from the area
“Emergency services worked through the night to evacuate residents from the flood-stricken area.”
verb + noun + prep + noun
02. evacuate the building immediately
“When the fire alarm sounded, the security team instructed everyone to evacuate the building immediately.”
verb + noun + adv
03. order to evacuate
“The local authorities issued a mandatory order to evacuate as the wildfire approached the residential area.”
verb + infinitive
Noun
04. decision to evacuate
“The mayor's difficult decision to evacuate the city saved thousands of lives before the hurricane hit.”
noun + infinitive
05. plan to evacuate
“The hospital has a comprehensive plan to evacuate patients in the event of a power failure.”
noun + infinitive
Adverb
06. forcibly evacuate
“Police were authorized to forcibly evacuate those who refused to leave the danger zone.”
adv + verb
07. safely evacuate
“Despite the heavy smoke, the crew managed to safely evacuate all passengers from the aircraft.”
adv + verb
08. evacuate their homes
09. evacuate the settlers
Real-World Examples
“The Times of Israel reported that Israeli forces and police attempted to “evacuate the settlers” early on Thursday after a previous failed effort the day before.” “Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate across Germany, France, Croatia and Greece as wildfires continue to rage across parts of western and southeastern Europe.” “More than 100,000 households have been asked to evacuate on Thursday after the rain triggered landslides and power outages.” Etymology
First attested in 1526; borrowed from Latin ēvacuātus, the perfect passive participle of ēvacuō (“to empty out, evacuate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- C1 · AdvancedOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/evacuate
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0