vacate
/veɪˈkeɪt/verb
vacate is spelled V-A-C-A-T-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, vacate means “To move out of a dwelling or other property, either by choice or by eviction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in vacate?
| Letters | 6: V-A-C-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 24,170th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is vacate?
Vacate appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce vacate?
- /veɪˈkeɪt/
- /ˈveɪ.keɪt/
- /vəˈkeɪt/
Vacate has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-vacate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with vacate?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as vacate.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: caveat.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of vacate
- vacates present, singular, he/she/it
- vacating participle, present
- vacated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vacate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To move out of a dwelling or other property, either by choice or by eviction.
I have to vacate my house by midday, as the new owner is moving in.
- 2
To leave an office or position.
He vacated his coaching position because of the corruption scandal.
- 3
To have a court judgement set aside; to annul.
The judge vacated the earlier decision when new evidence was presented.
- 4
To leave an area, usually as a result of orders from public authorities in the event of a riot or natural disaster.
If you do not immediately vacate the area, we will make you leave with tear gas!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vacate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does vacate come from?
Originally used in the legal sense "to annul", a denominal from Early Modern English vacat (“legal annulment”), a development from Middle English vacat (“absence or cancellation noted in a register”), from Latin vacat, third-person singular present active indicative of vacō (“to be idle; to be unoccupied”, literally “to be empty”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).