evacuate
B2Formal/Neutral. Common in news, official instructions, safety contexts.
Definition
Meaning
to remove people from a dangerous place to a safe one; to empty a place of its occupants.
1. To leave a dangerous place oneself. 2. To remove contents from a container or system (e.g., bowels, a building's air). 3. To vacate a position or place, often under orders.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Often implies urgency and organized removal. Can be transitive (authorities evacuate people) or intransitive (people evacuate). The object can be the place being emptied or the people being removed.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minor. 'Evacuate to' (destination) is slightly more common in AmE. Both use the intransitive sense ('we must evacuate').
Connotations
Identical strong association with emergencies (fire, flood, war, hurricane).
Frequency
Similar frequency, high in disaster reporting.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[SUBJ] evacuate [OBJ: PLACE][SUBJ] evacuate [OBJ: PEOPLE] from [PLACE][SUBJ] evacuate [OBJ: PEOPLE] to [PLACE][SUBJ] evacuate (intransitive)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Evacuate one's bowels. (formal/medical)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare. 'The office was evacuated due to a gas leak.'
Academic
Used in history, political science, disaster studies. 'The government evacuated the coastal regions before the cyclone.'
Everyday
News and safety discussions. 'We had to evacuate the cinema when the fire alarm went off.'
Technical
Emergency services, military, medicine. 'The procedure is to evacuate the building via the nearest safe exit.'
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The council ordered residents to evacuate the floodplain.
- The building was evacuated as a precaution.
- During the war, children were evacuated to the countryside.
American English
- Officials are urging everyone to evacuate before the hurricane hits.
- The police evacuated the mall due to a bomb threat.
- Fire crews helped evacuate the elderly from the nursing home.
adverb
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
adjective
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The teacher told the class to evacuate the school.
- People must evacuate when they hear the siren.
- During the fire drill, we evacuated the building quickly and calmly.
- The village was evacuated because of the forest fire.
- Authorities decided to evacuate the entire neighbourhood as a precautionary measure.
- Residents were given only two hours to evacuate their homes.
- The controversial policy was to evacuate non-essential personnel before initiating the military operation.
- After the chemical spill, the decision to evacuate the industrial complex was implemented without delay.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
E-VAC-uate: Imagine a vacuum cleaner (VAC) sucking people OUT of a dangerous place.
Conceptual Metaphor
EMERGENCY IS A CONTAINER TO BE EMPTIED (evacuate a building). SAFETY IS A DESTINATION (evacuate to a shelter).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid using 'эвакуировать' reflexively for intransitive use. English: 'The people evacuated.' NOT 'The people were evacuated themselves.'
- Do not confuse with 'evaluate' (/ɪˈvæl.ju.eɪt/).
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect: 'They evacuated from the city.' (redundant 'from' after transitive use) Correct: 'They evacuated the city.' OR 'They evacuated (intransitive).'
- Confusion with 'evacuate' (remove people) vs. 'vacate' (leave empty, less urgent).
Practice
Quiz
Which sentence uses 'evacuate' correctly?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it can be intransitive. E.g., 'The captain ordered everyone to evacuate.'
The main noun is 'evacuation' (the process of evacuating). A person who is evacuated is an 'evacuee'.
Yes, this is a common collocation, especially in news reports. It emphasizes the goal of the action.
'Vacate' is more general and less urgent (e.g., vacate a room, vacate a position). 'Evacuate' strongly implies danger and an organized, rapid removal for safety reasons.