deallocate

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UK/diːˈæləkeɪt/

verb

To remove from the set of resources put aside for (allocated to) a particular user or purpose.

“Empty out your locker; it will be deallocated at the end of the day.”

OriginEnglish allocate ← Latin dē- ← Proto-Italic *dē →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

verbdeallocate (third-person singular simple present deallocates, present participle deallocating, simple past and past participle deallocated)

present singular third person deallocates · participle present deallocating · participle past deallocated · past deallocated

  1. transitiveTo remove from the set of resources put aside for (allocated to) a particular user or purpose.

    Empty out your locker; it will be deallocated at the end of the day.

  2. transitivecomputingTo return previously allocated memory.

    Computer programs should deallocate memory they no longer need, releasing it back to the system.

    1 more example

    Similarly, the program deallocates storage for automatic objects when the procedure returns to its caller.

    2010, Randall Hyde, The Art of Assembly Language, 2nd edition, No Starch Press, →ISBN, page 267

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindē
  5. Latindē-
  6. Englishde-
  7. Englishallocate
  8. Englishdeallocate

From de- + allocate.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

deallocate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deallocate

MLA

“deallocate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deallocate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deallocate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deallocate.

Source: deallocate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.