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• exit
  exit

  noun

  a way or passage out.
• Exit
  Exit

  noun

  (in Britain) a society that seeks to promote the legitimization of voluntary euthanasia

exit

¹ American  

[eg-zit, ek-sit] / ˈɛg zɪt, ˈɛk sɪt /

noun

• exits
  plural

1. a way or passage out.

   Please leave the theater by the nearest exit.

2. any of the marked ramps or spurs providing egress from a highway.

   Take the second exit after the bridge for the downtown shopping district.

3. a going out or away; departure.

   to make one's exit.

4. a departure of an actor from the stage as part of the action of a play.

5. Also called exit card.  Bridge. a card that enables a player to relinquish the lead when having it is a disadvantage.

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verb (used without object)

1. to go out; leave.

2. Bridge. to play an exit card.

verb (used with object)

1. to leave; depart from.

   Sign out before you exit the building.

exit ² American  

[eg-zit, ek-sit] / ˈɛg zɪt, ˈɛk sɪt /

verb (used without object)

1. (a person) goes offstage (used as a stage direction, often preceding the name of the character).

   Exit Falstaff.

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exit ¹ British  

/ ˈɛɡzɪt, ˈɛksɪt /

noun

1. a way out; door or gate by which people may leave

2. the act or an instance of going out; departure

3. 1. the act of leaving or right to leave a particular place

   2. ( as modifier )

      an exit visa

4. departure from life; death

5. theatre the act of going offstage

6. (in Britain) a point at which vehicles may leave or join a motorway

7. bridge

   1. the act of losing the lead deliberately

   2. a card enabling one to do this

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verb

1. to go away or out; depart; leave

2. theatre to go offstage: used as a stage direction

   exit Hamlet

3. bridge to lose the lead deliberately

4. (sometimes tr) computing to leave (a computer program or system)

Exit ² British  

/ ˈɛɡzɪt, ˈɛksɪt /

noun

1. (in Britain) a society that seeks to promote the legitimization of voluntary euthanasia

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• exits
  plural

Etymology

Origin of exit¹

First recorded in 1560–70; partly from Latin exitus “act of going out, departure,” noun derivative of exīre “to go out”; partly noun and verb use of exit ²

Origin of exit²

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin exit; literally, “(he/she) goes out,” 3rd-person singular present of exīre; see exit ¹

Explanation

To exit is to go out of or leave a place. When an actor exits, he moves off the stage and out of sight of the audience. You can literally exit a room or a building, or exit in a more figurative way: "She decided to exit politics after two terms as Senator." The door or passage through which you exit can also be called an exit, like the emergency exit on a train or airplane. The stage direction, as in "exit, stage left," is the original English use of the word, from the Latin exitus, "a leaving, a going out."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exit Exit exits

Firms are finding ways to get them to exit and make way for the next generation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

And in a dead-of-night meeting just weeks after Kiffin’s exit, they promised Chambliss a new NIL deal worth more than $6 million to keep him here.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

The former Manchester United Real Madrid forward, who announced that this summer's World Cup would be his last, was in tears after Portugal's World Cup exit.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Judge Stone wrote in the arbitration that Tran stopped at an “unsafe and illegal” gore point and could have used the MacArthur Boulevard exit ramp and stopped at a safe place instead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

It was in the back of the room, and there was no other exit.

From "Trouble at the Arcade (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #1)" by Franklin W. Dixon

Her latest sci-fi book, Exit Party, is no exception.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Exit polling found that Republican Sen. Ted Cruz beat Democrat Colin Allred by 18 percentage points among non-college-educated Texans in 2024.

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026

Exit polls by Ipsos and Datum showed Roberto Sanchez, Ricardo Belmont, Rafael Lopez Aliaga and Jorge Nieto separated by only a few points in the race for second place.

From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026

The 2010 documentary film Exit Through The Gift Shop - showing Banksy at work - was nominated for an Oscar and a Bafta.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

Exit, enter, exit, enter - it was a smooth operation.

From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd

This term there is a different remit, to be successful while integrating 10 new players - having spent more than £250m - following the summer exits.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

The market timers’ unseemly rush for the exits is illustrated in the accompanying chart of the average recommended equity exposure among a subset of short-term market timers who focus on the Nasdaq stock market.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

The deal would be the latest in a string of big exits for KKR at a time when the private-equity industry has been struggling to unload assets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Goals from Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa in a 10-minute second-half spell gave Newcastle a 2-0 victory, with thousands of Spurs supporters heading for the exits early.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

From my usual table, while I wait for my laptop to start up, I watch him take her to the restroom area, the fire exits, and the snack counter.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Related Words

• demise
• departure
• evacuation
• exodus
• farewell
• retirement
• retreat
• withdrawal