1 A2 neutral
To leave the place where you live and go to live somewhere else, typically in a different town, city, or country.
"She moved away from her home town after university and rarely went back."
move away
A2 neutral intransitive
To leave a place where you have been living and go to live somewhere else; also to change direction away from something.
In plain English
Go to live somewhere different, or step back and go in the other direction.
What does "move away" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 A2 neutral
To change your position so that you are further from something or someone.
"The crowd moved away from the stage when the rain started."
3 B1 neutral
To change direction, opinion, or approach — to abandon or distance yourself from something.
"The company is moving away from traditional advertising and investing more in social media."
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To go in the direction away from something — transparent.
Actually means
Go to live somewhere different, or step back and go in the other direction.
Usage tip
Very common. 'Move away from' is a natural pattern, both literally (stepping back from something) and figuratively (changing approach, abandoning an idea). Used frequently when discussing relocation of homes.
Words that pair with "move away"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
city home family idea traditional approach
How to conjugate "move away"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
move away
I/you/we/they
3rd person
moves away
he/she/it
Past simple
moved away
yesterday
Past participle
moved away
have + pp
-ing form
moving away
continuous
Hear "move away" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "move away" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
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