n. The act of separating or parting; separation.n. The act of going away; a moving from a place: as, his departure from home.n. The act of leaving the present life; decease; death.n. Deviation or divergence, as from a standard, rule, or plan; a turning away, as from a purpose or course of action.n. In navigation: The distance in nautical miles made good by a ship due east or due west: in the former case it is called easting, and in the latter, westing. When the two places are on the same parallel, the departure is the same as the distance sailedn. The bearing or position of an object from which a vessel commences her dead-reckoning.n. In law, the abandonment of one's former ground, in pleading or process, which is implied by interposing a pleading stating as the grounds of action or defense matter inconsistent with or substantially different from that originally indicated; the change involved or attempted after beginning an action or a defense on one ground, in endeavoring to continue it on one substantially different.