relocate
gb/ɹˌilˈoʊkeɪt/ us/ɹˌilˈoʊkeɪt/
B2
English
~ 7100
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B2
action
1
move home or work to new place
To move to a new place to live or to work.
Usage pattern:
to relocate [someone/something] to [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use the wrong preposition, saying *relocate in a city* instead of *relocate to a city*. The usual pattern is *relocate to [a place]*. Another mistake is using *relocate* for short or temporary moves (like a weekend trip); *relocate* is normally used for long-term or permanent moves for living or working.
Synonyms
move (More common and general; does not carry the same formal or long-term feeling that relocate often has.)
|
resettle (Often used for people who are moving permanently, especially refugees or groups moving for political or social reasons.)
Antonyms
stay (Means not changing where you live or work, the opposite of relocating.)
Collocations
relocate to another city
|relocate overseas
|relocate employees
|relocate a company
|forced to relocate
|plan to relocate
Themes
work
|daily life
|business
|travel
Examples
- After ten years in London, they decided to relocate to Manchester for a quieter life.
- The company is relocating its head office to Berlin next spring.
- Many staff members are unwilling to relocate with the firm to the new site.
- The family was forced to relocate after the flood destroyed their home.
- She took a new job and relocated from Chicago to a small town in Oregon.
Learner examples
- My parents want to relocate to the countryside.
- The factory will relocate to another town next year.
- He does not want to relocate because his children like their school.
- Many workers must relocate if they want to keep their jobs.
- She relocated from Spain to Canada for a new job.
Verb
B2
action
2
move an object to another place
To move something from one place to another place.
Usage pattern:
to relocate [something] to [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse *relocate* with *replace*. *Relocate* means to move something to a new place, while *replace* means to take something away and put a different thing there. Another confusion is to think *relocate* means *find again*; in modern English it almost always means to move the position, not to search for something.
Synonyms
move (Most common everyday word; less formal and more general than relocate.)
|
shift (Often suggests a smaller or shorter movement than relocate and is more informal.)
Antonyms
leave (Means to keep something where it is and not move it, the opposite of relocating it.)
Collocations
relocate the printer
|relocate the statue
|relocate the switch
|relocate wildlife
|relocate the files
|relocate the meeting room
Themes
work
|technology
|environment
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The museum plans to relocate the statue to the main entrance hall.
- We relocated the router to the living room to improve the Wi‑Fi signal.
- Engineers recommended relocating the control panel to a safer area of the plant.
- The city is relocating the bus stop to reduce traffic on this corner.
- Conservationists are relocating the animals to a larger, protected reserve.
Learner examples
- They will relocate the printer to another room.
- Please relocate the chairs to the back of the hall.
- The company wants to relocate the meeting to a bigger office.
- Workers relocated the boxes to the second floor.
- The zoo staff will relocate the birds to a new cage.
Grammar
Dictionary form
relocate
IPA
GB/ɹˌilˈoʊkeɪt/
US/ɹˌilˈoʊkeɪt/
Syllables & stress
re - lo - cate (3 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (lo)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: relocate
- 3rd Person Singular: relocates
- Present Participle: relocating
- Past: relocated
Word family
Forms
relocates
verb
relocating
verb
relocated
verb
Core family
relocation
noun B2
Advanced or less common
relocatable
adjective
dislocate
verb
dislocation
noun
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.