dislocate

/dɪsˈloʊkeɪt/

/dɪsˈlʌʊkeɪt/

Other forms: dislocated; dislocating; dislocates

To dislocate is to move something out of its correct or regular place, or disrupt it. When a family moves to a new town, it dislocates the kids, and if you throw a bowling ball, you might dislocate your shoulder.

A hurricane can dislocate boats, beach homes, and sea creatures, and a football injury can also dislocate your shoulder — moving the bone out of the joint in which it normally sits. It's painful to dislocate a bone, and it can be painful in a different way when circumstances dislocate your life. The Latin root is dislocare, "put out of place," from dis-, "away," and locare, "to place."

Definitions of dislocate

1. verb

   put out of its usual place, position, or relationship
   type of:

   displace

   cause to move, usually with force or pressure
2. verb

   move out of position
   “dislocate joints”

   synonyms: luxate, slip, splay

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense