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   E·vac·u·ate

   /əˈvakyəˌwāt/

   

   verb

   • 1. remove (someone) from a place of danger to a safer place: "several families were evacuated from their homes" Similar removeclearmove outshifttake awayturn outexpelevictclearask/force people to leavemake people leavemake people get outemptydepopulaterare:unpeople
   • ▪ leave or cause the occupants to leave (a place of danger): "fire alarms forced staff to evacuate the building" Similar leavevacateabandondesertmove out ofget out ofexit fromquitwithdraw fromgo away frombe gone fromretreat fromretire fromdecamp fromdisappear fromtake oneself off fromfleedepart fromescape frompull out ofarchaic:forsakeOpposite return to
   • ▪ (of troops) withdraw from (a place): "the last American troops evacuated the Canal Zone"
   • 2. remove air, water, or other contents from (a container): technical "when it springs a leak, evacuate the pond"
   • ▪ empty (the bowels or another bodily organ): "patients evacuated their bowels before dialysis" Similar empty (out)voidopenmovepurgedraindefecateexpelejectdischargeexcretepasseliminatevoidempty (out)drainrare:egestOpposite retain
   • ▪ discharge (feces or other matter) from the body: "the bowel functions to evacuate solid waste products" Similar expelejectdischargeexcretepasseliminatevoidempty (out)drainrare:egestOpposite retain

   Word Origin late Middle English (in the sense ‘clear the contents of’): from Latin evacuat- ‘(of the bowels) emptied’, from the verb evacuare, from e- (variant of ex-) ‘out of’ + vacuus ‘empty’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. evacuator noun

   Scrabble Points: 13

   • E

     1

   • V

     4

   • A

     1

   • C

     3

   • U

     1

   • A

     1

   • T

     1

   • E

     1

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