What does displace mean?
To displace is to push something or someone out of their usual place, position, or role. The word most often describes people forced from their homes — by war, persecution, or natural disaster — as in 'millions were displaced by the flood.' It also applies more broadly: a new technology may displace an older one, and a rising employee may displace a rival. In physics, displace has a precise technical meaning: a floating or submerged object displaces a volume of fluid equal to the space it occupies, which is why ships are measured by displacement. The word derives from Latin roots via Old French and entered English in the early seventeenth century, carrying a sense of removing from one's place. Displace is generally neutral to formal in tone, but when applied to people it tends to evoke hardship and upheaval. Related forms include the noun displacement and the adjective displaced.
verbTo force something or someone out of its usual or original place, position, or role; to move from its proper or customary location. It can also mean to replace or supersede something, as when a new technology displaces an older one.
- To force people or things out of their usual place or position, especially through conflict or disaster
- To take the place of or supplant something, especially a technology, method, or person in a role
- (Physics) To occupy the space that would otherwise be filled by a fluid, as with a floating body displacing water
"The new dam will displace thousands of residents from their homes."
"Thousands of civilians were displaced by the fighting."
"Streaming services have largely displaced DVD rentals."
Every ship's tonnage was historically measured by how much water it displaced — Archimedes figured out the physics over 2,000 years ago.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of displace
Displace comes from the Old French desplacer, formed from the prefix des- (from Latin dis-, meaning 'apart' or 'away') plus placer ('to place'), which itself traces back to Latin platea, meaning 'broad street' or 'open space,' ultimately from Greek plateia. The word entered English in the early seventeenth century with the core sense of removing something from its place. Its Latin root also gives English related words such as place, replace, and placement, all built on the same notion of position or setting.
Related word forms
How displace is actually used
Displace is formal to neutral in register and frequently appears in journalism about refugees and natural disasters. In the sense of forced removal, it often carries a serious or humanitarian connotation, so it is preferred over casual alternatives in news and policy contexts.
Easily confused with displace
Misplace means to lose track of something temporarily by putting it in the wrong location; displace means to force something out of its position or to supplant it.
Replace means to put a new thing in place of an old one; displace emphasizes pushing something out of its position rather than substituting it.