dislocate
verb
dis·lo·cate
ˈdis-lō-ˌkāt 
-lə-;
(ˌ)dis-ˈlō-
dislocated; dislocating; dislocates
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
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
While chatting with Men’s Health in 2022, the actor admitted to suffering various injuries over the course of a year and a half, including tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, dislocating his shoulder, breaking his wrist, and throwing his back out.
—
Shania Russell, EW.com, 4 Aug. 2024
Then on the Boston Celtics, Hayward fractured his tibia and dislocated his ankle just minutes into the season opener.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024
Instead, Sharp and the others went from dolphin to dolphin, rolling those that were on their sides onto their bellies and then hand-digging the sand out from beneath the dolphins’ nine-inch pectoral fins so the appendages wouldn’t dislocate.
—Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 19 July 2024
Turner also dislocated his shoulder sometime before police arrived.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 12 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for dislocate 
Shania Russell, EW.com, 4 Aug. 2024
Then on the Boston Celtics, Hayward fractured his tibia and dislocated his ankle just minutes into the season opener.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024
Instead, Sharp and the others went from dolphin to dolphin, rolling those that were on their sides onto their bellies and then hand-digging the sand out from beneath the dolphins’ nine-inch pectoral fins so the appendages wouldn’t dislocate.
—Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 19 July 2024
Turner also dislocated his shoulder sometime before police arrived.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 12 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for dislocate
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dislocate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dislocate
Cite this Entry
“Dislocate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dislocate. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
-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
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