displace Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb cause to move, usually with force or pressure
    • the refugees were displaced by the war
  2. verb take the place of or have precedence over
    preempt.
    • live broadcast of the presidential debate preempts the regular news hour
    • discussion of the emergency situation will preempt the lecture by the professor
  3. verb terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position
    give the axe; send away; give the sack; fire; dismiss; terminate; sack; give notice; force out; can.
    • The boss fired his secretary today
    • The company terminated 25% of its workers
  4. verb cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
    move.
    • Move those boxes into the corner, please
    • I'm moving my money to another bank
    • The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant

WordNet

Dis*place" transitive verb
Etymology
Pref. dis- + place: cf. F. déplacer.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Displaced ; present participle & verbal noun Displacing
Definitions
  1. To change the place of; to remove from the usual or proper place; to put out of place; to place in another situation; as, the books in the library are all displaced.
  2. To crowd out; to take the place of.
    Holland displaced Portugal as the mistress of those seas. London Times.
  3. To remove from a state, office, dignity, or employment; to discharge; to depose; as, to displace an officer of the revenue.
  4. To dislodge; to drive away; to banish. Obs.
    You have displaced the mirth. Shak.
    Syn. -- To disarrange; derange; dismiss; discard.

Webster 1913