dislocate

verb

dis·​lo·​cate ˈdis-lō-ˌkāt 

-lə-;

(ˌ)dis-ˈlō- 

dislocated; dislocating; dislocates

transitive verb

1

: to put out of place

specifically : to displace (a bone) from normal connections with another bone

2

: to force a change in the usual status, relationship, or order of : disrupt

Synonyms

• budge
• displace
• disturb
• move
• relocate
• remove
• reposition
• shift
• transfer
• transpose

Examples of dislocate in a Sentence

She fell and dislocated her shoulder.

The new hotel will dislocate several businesses.

Thousands of workers have been dislocated by the latest economic crisis.

Recent Examples on the Web

Literally, our one sort of brute strength person had his whole shoulder dislocated on the first day. —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025

Fontenelle, a Los Angeles Angels infield prospect, had torn ligaments in his ankle, dislocated it as well, and fractured his fibula. —Sam Blum, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025

Madrigal dislocated his left, non-throwing shoulder while charging a ground ball in a split-squad Grapefruit League game Sunday, with further imaging revealing a fracture. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025

After the antagonistic Mari and Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) get at each other’s throats over dinner, Mari goes for a walk, only to fall into an open pit and dislocate her knee. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin dislocatus, past participle of dislocare, from Latin dis- + locare to locate

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

dislocate

verb

dis·​lo·​cate ˈdis-lō-ˌkāt 

(ˈ)dis-ˈlō-

1

: to put out of place

especially : to displace (a bone) from normal connections with another bone

2

: disrupt

Medical Definition

dislocate

transitive verb

dis·​lo·​cate ˈdis-lō-ˌkāt  -lə-; (ˈ)dis-ˈlō-ˌkāt 

dislocated; dislocating

: to put (a body part) out of order by displacing a bone from its normal connections with another bone

he dislocated his shoulder

also : to displace (a bone) from normal connections with another bone

the humerus was dislocated in the fall