evacuate

To leave a dangerous place, or move people away from it to safety.

• Everyone must evacuate the building.
• Police evacuated residents after the gas leak.
• We evacuated before the flood reached our street.

How to use it: evacuate someone from something (Rescuers evacuated families from the flooded village.); evacuate someone to somewhere (They evacuated the children to a nearby school.)

Similar words: leave, clear, move to safety

Common phrases: evacuate a building, evacuate residents, evacuate the area

To remove the contents of a space or container, especially air or gas.

• The pump evacuates the chamber.
• They evacuated the air before sealing the tube.
• The vessel must be evacuated before the experiment begins.

How to use it: evacuate something from something (The pump evacuates air from the chamber.)

Similar words: empty, pump out

Opposites: fill

Common phrases: evacuate a chamber, evacuate a vessel, evacuate the air

To officially end the legal force of an agreement or decision.

• The court evacuated the contract.
• The decree evacuated their marriage.
• The judges evacuated the earlier judgment after finding an error.

Similar words: annul, nullify, invalidate

Opposites: validate

Common phrases: evacuate a contract, evacuate a judgment, evacuate a marriage