French word

évacuer

Pronunciation

IPA/evakɥe/

Meaning

  • verbevacuate

Example

Veuillez évacuer immédiatement.

Please evacuate immediately.

Illustration for évacuer (evacuate)

More examples

Les habitants ont dû évacuer un bâtiment après l'alerte.

The residents had to evacuate a building after the alert.

Core concept

People and belongings moving out through an exit while a place is cleared for safety.

Common phrases

  • évacuer un bâtiment

    evacuate a building

  • évacuer les locaux

    evacuate the premises

Similar words

partir: Leave the current place and go somewhere else.
quitter: Leave a place or person.
sortir: Go from inside a place to the outside.
vider: Remove what is inside to make a place empty.

Definition in French

Faire sortir des personnes ou retirer des biens d'un lieu pour le rendre vide ou sûr, généralement en cas d'urgence.

Word origin

Évacuer comes from Latin ex- 'out' and vacuare 'to empty', through medieval Latin evacuare, with the sense of making a place empty.

Usage tips

  • Évacuer is common in official or emergency language; ordinary departures usually use partir or quitter les lieux.

Other meanings

  • clearverb
  • emptyverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word