Meaning & use
deport
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformallaw
To force a foreign person to leave a country, usually because they have broken immigration or criminal laws.
Grammar: Takes an object: deport someone. Often used in the passive: he was deported.
Patterns
- deport someone
- deport someone from a place
- be deported to a place
The court decided to deport the man after he was convicted of fraud.
Thousands of migrants were deported last year.
She was deported to her home country after overstaying her visa.
verbtransitiveformalold-fashioned
To behave in a particular way; to conduct oneself.
Grammar: Reflexive use: deport oneself. This sense is old-fashioned and formal.
Patterns
- deport oneself
He deported himself with dignity throughout the trial.
The young lady deported herself gracefully at the ball.
Word forms
| third person singular | deports |
|---|---|
| past tense | deported |
| past participle | deported |
| -ing form | deporting |
Common combinations
- deport someone from a country
- The government may deport him from the country.
- be deported to a place
- He was deported to his native country.
- deport illegal immigrants
- The new law makes it easier to deport illegal immigrants.
- threaten to deport
- The authorities threatened to deport the family.
Synonyms and how they differ
- expel
- A more general word meaning to force someone to leave a place or organization; deport is specifically about forcing a foreigner to leave a country.
- banish
- To send someone away from a place as a punishment, often permanently; deport is a legal term used for non-citizens.
- extradite
- To send an accused person to another country to face trial; deport is about removing someone for immigration or other violations.
Opposites
Word family
- deportation noun
- The act of forcing a foreigner to leave a country.
- deportee noun
- A person who has been or is being deported.
Commonly confused: deport or depart? deport or report?
deport vs depart
Depart means to leave a place, usually on a journey; deport means to force someone else to leave a country.
deport vs report
Report means to give information about something; deport is about expelling a foreigner.
Practice
The government decided to ________ the convicted criminal after he served his sentence.
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a verb meaning 'force a foreigner to leave', which is 'deport'. 'Depart' means to leave, but it is intransitive and does not take an object here; 'report' means to give information and does not fit the context; 'deportation' is a noun and cannot follow 'to' in this structure.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “deport”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.