evacuate
UK: ɪˈvæk.ju.eɪt | US: ɪˈvæk.ju.eɪt
vt. to remove people from a dangerous place to a safer location
vt. to empty a place by forcing people to leave
vi. to leave a place, especially for safety reasons
The word "evacuate" originates from Latin evacuare, combining e- (meaning "out") and vacuus (meaning "empty"). The term originally referred to the literal act of emptying a space, evolving in English to emphasize the organized removal of people from danger. The morpheme vacu retains its core meaning of "empty," while -ate standardizes it as a verb. This reflects a logical progression from physical emptiness to the modern sense of emergency relocation.
The government ordered residents to evacuate before the hurricane hit.
Firefighters evacuated the building due to a gas leak.
During the drill, students practiced how to evacuate quickly.
The army helped evacuate civilians from the war zone.
The hospital was partially evacuated after the chemical spill.