excrete
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to discharge (waste matter, such as urine, sweat, carbon dioxide, or faeces) from the body through the kidneys, skin, lungs, bowels, etc
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(of plants) to eliminate (waste matter, such as carbon dioxide and salts) through the leaves, roots, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have excretedperfect
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has excretedperfect 3rd person singular
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are excretingprogressive
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have been excretingperfect progressive
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excretessingular 3rd person
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excretingparticiple
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am excretingprogressive 1st person singular
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is excretingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been excretingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had excretedperfect
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had been excretingperfect progressive
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were excretingprogressive plural
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excretedparticiple
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was excretingprogressive singular
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excretedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of excrete
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin excrētus “sifted out,” past participle of excernere “to sift out, separate,” from ex- ex- 1 + cernere “to decide, separate, sift”
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.
The body can then easily excrete the metals.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2024
Excess sugar consumption also causes the body to excrete excess calcium, instead of reabsorbing it in the kidney as the body normally would.
From Salon • May 1, 2024
All these adaptations make up for the fact that songbirds never evolved a solution common to other seaside birds -- the ability to excrete excess salt through nasal glands.
From Science Daily • Jan. 24, 2024
A handful of labs are studying bats from other genera, and initial findings suggest they have varying abilities to excrete and transmit the pandemic virus.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 4, 2023
He expected his story to dovetail into milkwarm commiseration, but before Nel could excrete it, Sula said she didn’t know about that—it looked like a pretty good life to her.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
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.
