evacuate

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To move people away from a dangerous place to somewhere safe.

   After the earthquake, thousands of residents were evacuated.

2. 2
   verb

   To leave a place because it is dangerous.

   The soldiers evacuated the fortress before the enemy arrived.

3. 3
   verb

   To empty something completely.

   The scientist evacuated the chamber before filling it with gas.

Common collocations

• evacuate a building Verb + noun

First attested in 1526; borrowed from Latin ēvacuātus, the perfect passive participle of ēvacuō (“to empty out, evacuate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

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