Vacated

Vacated is the past tense and past participle of the verb vacate. The core meaning is to leave a place or to render it empty. It can describe a person who has left a building, a room that has been emptied, or a space that has been made vacant. In housing and property contexts, vacated premises are those that have been cleared of occupants, such as tenants who have moved out or buildings that have been abandoned or handed over to a new owner or manager. In legal contexts, to vacate a judgment, order, or decision means to annul or set it aside, removing its effect, often on appeal, consent, or after changes in circumstances. Courts may vacate rulings if new information arises or procedures were flawed; similarly, a vacated injunction or other order loses its force.

The term derives from Latin vacatus, from vacare “to be empty.” In ordinary usage, it can also function as an adjective, as in “a vacated room” or “a vacated seat,” describing something that has been emptied or left. Common phrases include “vacate the premises,” a directive to leave a location, and “vacated by” to indicate former occupancy.

Vacated is used across disciplines—real estate, law, and everyday language—to denote removal of occupancy or effect, and it often implies a transition from occupancy to an empty or unoccupied state.