Vacate is a verb meaning to leave a place, especially to end occupancy or residence. It implies a deliberate action of exiting or relinquishing a space, often by a required deadline. The term is commonly used in legal, housing, or formal contexts and can also mean to abandon a position or task.
US vs UK vs AU differences: US tends toward a slightly broader /eɪ/ and more pronounced tension before /t/, with possible rhoticity in connected speech; UK often shows a tighter /eɪ/ and more clipped final /t/ in careful speech; AU mirrors UK onset but vowel quality can be broader; all share /ˈveɪ.keɪt/ with final /t/. IPA references: US /ˈveɪ.keɪt/, UK /ˈveɪ.keɪt/, AU /ˈveɪ.keɪt/. Tips: practice with a focused mouth position—lip rounding minimal, tongue high for /eɪ/; keep jaw stable, release /t/ crisply. For all: ensure non-rhotic or rhotic influence is managed in context; record and compare to native exemplars.
"The tenants must vacate the apartment by the end of the month."
"Authorities ordered residents to vacate the building during the fire drill."
"We plan to vacate the old office and move to a larger space."
"After the ceremony, the guests began to vacate the venue."
Vacate traces to the Latin vacatus, past participle of vacare meaning to be empty, to be free or to be unoccupied. The root vac- derives from Latin vacare (to be empty). The term entered English via Old French vacer or vacer, with the sense of making empty space or vacating a place. In Middle English, vacate appeared in legal and ecclesiastical contexts, indicating the act of relinquishing a position or property. By over time, the sense broadened to general leaving: to vacate a room, house, seat, or building. The word has retained its core idea of creating empty space by leaving, though modern usage spans rental arrangements (vacate by a deadline), military deployments (vacating a post), and formal resignations (vacate a position). The pronunciation and spelling have remained stable, with the initial stress on the second syllable, reflecting its French-influenced syllabic structure, while the suffix -ate aligns with many English verbs formed from Latin verb stems. First known uses appear in English texts from the 15th to 16th centuries, gradually expanding in common legal, civic, and everyday language as a standard verb of leaving or emptying.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Vacate" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Vacate"
-ate sounds
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Vacate is pronounced VA-kate with primary stress on the first syllable. IPA: US/UK/AU: /ˈveɪ.keɪt/. The first vowel is the long a as in “face,” the second syllable is /keɪt/ with the long a diphthong. Mouth position: begin with an open, spread jaw for /eɪ/ then glide into a crisp /keɪt/ with final stopped t. Listen to the audio reference in reputable dictionaries to hear the subtle length and timing.
Common errors include misplacing the stress (say ‘va-CAte’), pronouncing the second syllable as a separate vowel or mis-timing the /eɪ/ diphthong. Another error is truncating to /ˈvæk.eɪt/ with a short a in the first syllable. Correction: keep the first syllable as /ˈveɪ/ with a clear long vowel, then smoothly glide into /keɪt/; ensure the final /t/ is audible but not overly forceful.
In all three accents, the word starts with /ˈveɪ/. US often has a more pronounced rhoticity after the stress cluster in connected speech, slight length differences, and an American /eɪ/ diphthong. UK and AU share /ˈveɪ.keɪt/ but vowel quality tends toward a tighter /eɪ/ and less rhoticity in non-rhotic varieties; AU may show slight vowel broadening in casual speech. Overall, the core is /ˈveɪ.keɪt/ with minor vowel quality differences.
The difficulty lies in the two-syllable rhythm and the /eɪ/ diphthong in both syllables, which requires switching from a tensional glide to a crisp final /t/. Some speakers also misplace the primary stress or slide into a schwa in the second syllable. Focus on sustaining the /eɪ/ through both syllables, then finish with a clean /t/. This combination can challenge non-native speakers or rapid speech contexts.
Is the ending ‘-cate’ pronounced as /keɪt/ consistently in all dialects, or can it shift? In standard American, British, and Australian English, -cate is consistently pronounced as /keɪt/ when attached to verbs like vacate, create, or educate in formal usage. The pronunciation remains stable across registers, but in rapid speech you might hear a slight lightening or merging of the /eɪ/ with adjacent consonants. IPA reference: /ˈveɪ.keɪt/.
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