eject
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to drive or force out; expel, as from a place or position.
The police ejected the hecklers from the meeting.
-
to dismiss, as from office or occupancy.
-
to evict, as from property.
- Synonyms:
- dispossess, oust
-
to throw out, as from within; throw off.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(tr) to drive or force out; expel or emit
-
(tr) to compel (a person) to leave; evict; dispossess
-
(tr) to dismiss, as from office
-
(intr) to leave an aircraft rapidly, using an ejection seat or capsule
-
(tr) psychiatry to attribute (one's own motivations and characteristics) to others
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has ejectedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have ejectedperfect
-
has been ejectingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
have been ejectingperfect progressive
-
am ejectingprogressive 1st person singular
-
are ejectingprogressive
-
ejectssingular 3rd person
-
is ejectingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
ejectingparticiple
Past
-
had ejectedperfect
-
were ejectingprogressive plural
-
had been ejectingperfect progressive
-
was ejectingprogressive singular
-
ejectedparticiple
-
ejectedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of eject
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin ējectus “thrown out” (past participle of ējicere ), equivalent to ē- + jec- (combining form of jacere ) “to throw” + -tus past participle suffix; see e- 1
Explanation
It’s good to eject yourself from a burning spaceship (if you happen to have an escape pod and a nice small planet to land on), but if a teacher ejects you from class, well that’s not so good. Eject comes from “jectere,” the Latin word meaning throw, but the “e” means out. If you want to say, “throw the rascals out!” in only one word, you should choose, “eject!” The opposite of eject is inject. Thinking about the nurse throwing the measles vaccine into your arm makes that doctor’s visit seem a little less friendly.
Vocabulary lists containing eject
"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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Latin Love, Vol II: iacere
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: ject
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Speaking to host Jimmy Fallon, he joked that album would be called Eject.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2025
I was able to prevent the error and repair loop by clicking on “Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media” in System Tray.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 5, 2022
“I don’t give alms but on holy days! And never in my hall! Begone, you pile of vilth! Knights! Eject him!”
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
I go to the machine and push the Eject button.
From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead
The chapter on The World as an Eject was published, almost as it now stands, in the Contemporary Review for July, 1886.
From Mind and Motion and Monism by Romanes, George John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
