WordGarden.iodisplace
B2Pronunciation
UK
- /dɪsplˈeɪs/
US
- /dɪsˈpleɪs/
Meanings
Verb
to move someone or something from its usual or proper place
to force people or animals to leave their home or usual place
to replace someone or something by taking its place or role
Beyond the definition
Imagine a powerful wave crashing onto the shore—it displaces the sand, moving it from one place to another. That's the core idea behind this word! To displace something means to force it out of its usual or rightful place. This can be literal, like an object displacing water in a bathtub, or non-literal, like changes in the economy displacing workers. Sometimes displacement isn't just about forcing movement, but about one thing taking the space or role that another once held—think of a new technology displacing an older one.
The context matters! You might hear about people displaced by war (forced to leave their homes), a new species displacing native plants (taking over their habitat), or even a sudden realization displacing a long-held worry.
To displace means to remove something from its original place, often forcefully or out of necessity. It can describe a physical movement—like when you fill a bathtub and the rising water displaces the air—but it's frequently used in more complex situations involving people or abstract concepts.
Think about natural disasters: hurricanes and floods can displace entire communities, forcing residents to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere. This is often referred to as "displacement," and sadly, it's a common consequence of conflict too; war can displace millions, creating refugees who are forced to rebuild their lives in new countries.
But displacement isn't always about dramatic events. It can also be more subtle. A new innovation might displace an older one (think of how streaming services displaced physical media), or a change in policy could displace certain workers from their jobs as roles become automated or redundant.
Even in mathematics and science, "displacement" has a specific meaning: it refers to the distance and direction an object has moved from its starting point. In physics, it's a vector quantity—meaning it has both magnitude (how far) and direction.
So, whether you're talking about people forced to leave their homes, objects moving through space, or one thing taking the place of another, displace always implies a removal from an original position. It's a word that carries weight, often hinting at change, loss, or a significant shift in the status quo.
Examples
- 1
Disaster
The earthquake displaced thousands of residents overnight.
- 2
Housing pressure
Rising rents are displacing long-time residents from the neighborhood.
- Patterndisplace someone from + place
force them to leave it
- 3
Technology
Streaming services have largely displaced DVD rentals.
- 4
Job loss
Some drivers worry that self-driving trucks could displace them from their jobs.
- Patterndisplace someone from a job
replace them so they lose that position
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Leadership role
After the merger, she was displaced as team leader by someone from the new company.
- Patterndisplace someone as + role
take their position
- 6
Belonging
After ten years abroad, he felt oddly displaced when he returned to his hometown.
- Phrasefeel displaced
feel that you no longer belong
See also
Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- displaceverb
Forms
- displacedpast tenseverb
- displacing-ing formverb
- displacesverb