# evacuate

/iˈvækjəˌeɪt/ (US) · /ɪvˈækjuːˌeɪt/ (UK)

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

## Senses

### 1. to move people to safety

verb · CEFR B2

to move people away from a dangerous place to a safer one.

For teachers: 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.

- 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.

### 2. to leave a dangerous place

verb · CEFR B2

to leave a place because it is no longer safe to stay there.

For teachers: to withdraw from or quit a place, especially in response to a threat or order. Often used intransitively.

- 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.

### 3. to empty a container

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to remove all the air or liquid from a container.

For teachers: to create a vacuum or remove the contents of a vessel or container. Frequently used in engineering and physics contexts.

- 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.

### 4. to empty the bowels

verb · CEFR C2 · Formal · Technical

to pass waste from the body.

For teachers: 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.

## Examples

- The police had to evacuate the building after the fire alarm rang.
- Local authorities ordered residents to evacuate the coastal town before the hurricane made landfall on Tuesday morning.
- Emergency protocols require the captain to evacuate the vessel immediately if the hull integrity is compromised beyond the reach of onboard repair systems.

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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.