exhaust

American  

[ig-zawst] / ɪgˈzɔst /

verb (used with object)

• exhausts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• exhausted,
  past participle,  past
• exhausting
  present participle

1. to drain of strength or energy, wear out, or fatigue greatly, as a person.

   I have exhausted myself working.

   Synonyms:

   debilitate, prostrate, enervate, tire

   Antonyms:

   invigorate, strengthen

2. to use up or consume completely; expend the whole of.

   He exhausted a fortune in stock-market speculation.

   Synonyms:

   dissipate, squander, waste

3. to draw out all that is essential in (a subject, topic, etc.); treat or study thoroughly.

4. to empty by drawing out the contents.

   to exhaust a tank of fuel oil.

   Synonyms:

   void

   Antonyms:

   fill

5. to create a vacuum in.

6. to draw out or drain off completely.

7. to deprive wholly of useful or essential properties, possessions, resources, etc.

8. Chemistry, Pharmacology. to deprive of ingredients by the use of solvents, as a drug.

9. to destroy the fertility of (soil), as by intensive cultivation.

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verb (used without object)

• exhausts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• exhausted,
  past participle,  past
• exhausting
  present participle

1. to pass out or escape, as spent steam from the cylinder of an engine.

noun

Machinery.

• exhausts
  plural

1. the escape of steam or gases from the cylinder of an engine.

2. the steam or gases ejected.

   Synonyms:

   vapor, smoke, fume

3. Also called exhaust system.  the parts of an engine through which the exhaust is ejected.

exhaust British  

/ ɪɡˈzɔːst /

verb

1. to drain the energy of; tire out

   to exhaust someone by constant questioning

2. to deprive of resources, etc

   a nation exhausted by war

3. to deplete totally; expend; consume

   to exhaust food supplies

4. to empty (a container) by drawing off or pumping out (the contents)

5. to develop or discuss thoroughly so that no further interest remains

   to exhaust a topic of conversation

6. to remove gas from (a vessel, etc) in order to reduce the pressure or create a vacuum; evacuate

7. to remove or use up the active ingredients from (a drug, solution, etc)

8. to destroy the fertility of (soil) by excessive cultivation

9. (intr) (of steam or other gases) to be emitted or to escape from an engine after being expanded

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noun

1. gases ejected from an engine as waste products

2. 1. the expulsion of expanded gas or steam from an engine

   2. ( as modifier )

      exhaust stroke

3. 1. the parts of an engine through which the exhausted gases or steam pass

   2. ( as modifier )

      exhaust valve

      exhaust pipe

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• exhauster
  noun
• exhaustibility
  noun
• multiexhaust
  noun
• preexhaust
  verb (used with object)
• exhausted
  adjective
• exhaustible
  adjective
• exhausting
  adjective
• nonexhausted
  adjective
• nonexhaustible
  adjective
• unexhausted
  adjective
• unexhaustedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• exhausts
  plural

Participles

• exhausting
  present
• exhausted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• exhaust
  simple
• exhausts
  simple
• have exhausted
  perfect
• has exhausted
  perfect
• am exhausting
  progressive
• are exhausting
  progressive
• is exhausting
  progressive
• have been exhausting
  perfect progressive
• has been exhausting
  perfect progressive

Past

• exhausted
  simple
• had exhausted
  perfect
• was exhausting
  progressive
• were exhausting
  progressive
• had been exhausting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will exhaust
  simple
• will have exhausted
  perfect
• will be exhausting
  progressive
• will have been exhausting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of exhaust

1515–25; 1895–1900 exhaust for def. 11; < Latin exhaustus emptied out, drained out, past participle of exhaurīre

Explanation

The noun exhaust refers to what comes out of your car's tailpipe. It consists of the burned gases and particulate matter that are created by the engine. As a verb, the word exhaust means to use something up, such as a food supply or your energy. The exhaust system in your car is the part that takes the waste created by the car in the form of gas or smoke and expels it through the tailpipe. The noun exhaust appeared in the 19th century, after the invention of the engine. Before that, the word, as a verb, referred only to depleting something, such as a natural resource. Miners deplete a mineral deposit and exhaust the resource.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exhaust exhausts exhausted exhausting

As the din of clanking metal dims, the smell of grease and exhaust lingers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The boat was leaking fuel and continuing to emit exhaust from the motor as it sank.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Employees must first exhaust their administrative remedies at an agency that cannot decide their case.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026

They are also not conventional air conditioners, which work by removing heat from a room via an exhaust hose or external unit.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

It was boxy and angular, and it poured so much smoke out of its exhaust pipe, I was certain the Forges of some Dark Lord were firing deep within its catalytic converter.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

February saw a surge in both trading activity, which often accompanies comes as a price swing exhausts itself, and institutional repositioning.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

When the star exhausts its fuel, this balance collapses.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 16, 2025

But for the audience, those sentiments more accurately reflect Ramsay’s film, a slow burn that exhausts its welcome and dies in a blaze after losing its grip on a meandering narrative.

From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2025

Judges then stunned the nation by ordering Sarkozy to swiftly start serving his sentence, dispensing with the usual practice of waiting until a white-collar convict exhausts the appeals process.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

Somehow all this information exhausts me, and I watch the second video, which explains the actual procedures for vacuuming, with the detached interest of a cineast.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

The Met said its detectives had "exhausted numerous lines of enquiry - including working with coroners – to identify whether Levy is responsible for any similar, unsolved incidents, including deaths".

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Videos of an exhausted Kotak running behind security personnel as protesters pursue him spread on social media.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Medicaid is there for people who have exhausted their own resources.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Woods earlier reported the record time as 29 days, but corrected it in an email to The Times on Monday, saying she and her husband George “were all so exhausted they hadn’t calculated correctly.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

At first, I was too exhausted to fight any of these things.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Finding the perfect position appeasing those on either side of an issue is exhausting work and prone to error.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

Managing that contradiction was, by multiple accounts, exhausting inside the People’s Bank of China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Her car offers air conditioning and privacy, but the living conditions are "exhausting", Nishiyama said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Anna, who has the right to lifelong anonymity, said the trials had been "emotionally exhausting" and added: "There were times when I really struggled having to relive what happened to me over and over again."

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

It had been work, exhilarating but exhausting all the same, constantly having to befuddle building supers and bellhops and nosy neighbors just for a place to sleep.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• drain
• fatigue
• frazzle
• impoverish
• overwork
• sap
• tire out
• use up
• weaken
• wear out
• weary