What does vacating mean?
“Vacating” is the present participle of the verb “vacate,” meaning to leave a place, position, or role completely and make it available for someone else. It is especially common in formal contexts involving property, offices, and institutional posts: a tenant can vacate an apartment, a director can vacate a position, or an organisation can vacate premises. The word usually implies relinquishing occupancy or control rather than merely making a brief departure. In American and British English it is understood similarly, though it often appears in legal, property, and administrative language. Its Latin ancestry makes the underlying image clear: Latin vacāre meant “to be empty” or “to be free.” In legal English, “vacating” can also mean setting aside or nullifying a judgment or order. The word is therefore useful when the reason for leaving matters, whether someone has ended a tenancy, resigned a post, or cleared property for another occupant.
verb (present participle)Vacating means leaving a place or relinquishing a position so that it becomes vacant and available to others. In legal usage, it can also mean setting aside or nullifying a judgment, ruling, or order.
- Leaving a place or position entirely, making it unoccupied or available to others.
- Setting aside or nullifying a legal judgment, ruling, or order.
"The tenants are vacating the apartment by the end of the month."
"The landlord notified the tenants that they must vacate the property by Friday."
"The appellate court granted the motion to vacate the lower court's ruling."
From a Latin root meaning “to be empty,” vacating captures the moment a place or position becomes available again.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does vacating come from?
The English verb “vacate” entered English in the late sixteenth century from French “vacquer,” which was based on Latin “vacāre,” meaning “to be empty” or “to be free.” Its original sense was to leave or make a place empty. Latin “vacāre” also underlies cognates such as “vacant,” “vacuous,” “vacuum,” and “evacuation.”
Related word forms
How vacating is actually used
Generally formal or neutral in tone, “vacating” is especially common in property, legal, institutional, and administrative contexts. In everyday speech, “leaving” is usually more natural.
Easily confused with vacating
Vacating means leaving a place or giving up a position, whereas evacuating usually means moving people away from a dangerous area.