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  • ex
    ex
    preposition
    without, not including, or without the right to have.
  • EX
    EX
    abbreviation
  • ex-
    ex-
    a prefix meaning “out of,” “from,” and hence “utterly,” “thoroughly,” and sometimes meaning “not” or “without” or indicating a former title, status, etc.; freely used as an English formative: exstipulate; exterritorial; ex-president (former president); ex-member; ex-wife .
  • ex.
    ex.
    abbreviation
    examination.
  • Ex.
    Ex.
    abbreviation
    Exodus.
Synonyms

ex

1 American  
[eks] / ɛks /

preposition

  1. Finance. without, not including, or without the right to have.

    ex interest; ex rights.

  2. Commerce. free of charges to the purchaser until the time of removal from a specified place or thing.

    ex ship; ex warehouse; ex elevator.

  3. (in U.S. colleges and universities) from, but not graduated with, the class of.

    ex '47.


ex 2 American  
[eks] / ɛks /

noun

Informal.
  1. a former spouse or a former partner in a long-term romantic relationship; ex-wife, ex-husband, or ex-lover.


ex 3 American  
[eks] / ɛks /

noun

  1. the letter X, x.


ex 4 American  
[eks] / ɛks /

adjective

Slang.
  1. excellent.


EX 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. Biology, Ecology. extinct.


ex- 6 American  
  1. a prefix meaning “out of,” “from,” and hence “utterly,” “thoroughly,” and sometimes meaning “not” or “without” or indicating a former title, status, etc.; freely used as an English formative: exstipulate; exterritorial; ex-president (former president); ex-member; ex-wife .


ex- 7 American  
  1. variant of exo-.


ex- 8 American  
  1. a prefix identical in meaning with ex- 1, occurring before vowels in words of Greek origin: exarch; exegesis .


ex. 9 American  

abbreviation

  1. examination.

  2. examined.

  3. example.

  4. except.

  5. exception.

  6. exchange.

  7. excursion.

  8. executed.

  9. executive.

  10. express.

  11. extra.


Ex. 10 American  

abbreviation

Bible.
  1. Exodus.


ex- 1 British  

prefix

  1. out of; outside of; from

    exclosure

    exurbia

  2. former

    ex-wife

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ex 2 British  
/ ɛks /

preposition

  1. finance not participating in; excluding; without

    ex bonus

    ex dividend

    ex rights

  2. commerce without charge to the buyer until removed from

    ex quay

    ex ship

    ex works

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ex 3 British  
/ ɛks /

noun

  1. informal (a person's) former wife, husband, etc

  2. short for examination

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Ex. 4 British  

abbreviation

  1. Exodus

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ex- 5 British  

combining form

  1. a variant of exo-

    exergonic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ex1

First recorded in 1835–45; from Latin; see ex- 1

Origin of ex2

First recorded in 1820–30; by shortening

Origin of ex4

First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening

Origin of ex-6

< Latin, combining form of ex, ē (preposition) out (of ), from, beyond

Origin of ex-8

From Greek combining form of ex, ek, “out (of), from, beyond”; see ec-, ex- 1

Vocabulary lists containing ex

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.

See Examples For:

After an ex blocks them by phone and on social media, they can still send a one-cent transfer with a short message begging for forgiveness in the transaction description.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 18, 2026

"Also the movie is saying sometimes it's better not to stay in the relationship," said Wilde, who has two children with her ex, actor Jason Sudeikis, and dated singer Harry Styles.

From Barron's Jun. 25, 2026

She told me her ex was a public defender, and he had shared stories about the lives people carry beneath the facts of their cases.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 5, 2026

“Why’d you stay with her?” my friend asked me about my ex, in one of our many long talks at his house during my time there.

From Salon Jun. 1, 2026

The happy end brought about by a divinity, the deus ex machina, is a common device with Euripides alone of the three tragic poets.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

It added it would have a long bonnet to give it a "torpedo-shaped form", drawing inspiration from the company's experimental cars of the 1920s, known as EX models, and the Art Deco era.

From BBC Apr. 14, 2026

The mission's ability to measure the polarization of X-rays allowed astronomers to closely examine EX Hydrae, a type of system known as an intermediate polar.

From Science Daily Jan. 8, 2026

He tells me it is my job to work it out with his EX.

From Washington Post Oct. 6, 2022

The electrode potential of a half-cell, EX, is the cell potential of said half-cell acting as a cathode when connected to a SHE acting as an anode.

From Textbooks Feb. 14, 2019

Single seater duplicate of EX except fitted with a single propeller only.

From Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1913 by Various

“Integrating Europe’s capital markets to better channel high household savings towards productive investments in the EU will be essential,” ex- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi concluded in his landmark 2024 report on continental competitiveness.

From Barron's Mar. 30, 2026

The five included two key figures from the Jeremy Corbyn era – ex- director of communications Seumas Milne and Mr Corbyn’s former chief of staff Karie Murphy.

From BBC Jun. 6, 2024

“What lamentable comments from the ex- president!” tweeted Luis Carlos Ugalde, who served as president of Mexico’s Federal Election Institute during part of Fox’s presidential term.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 26, 2023

An ex- commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army was also sanctioned.

From Reuters Mar. 28, 2023

Palmares was just the most visible example of the maroon communities that ex- isted in all the sugar lands.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

“And weird that you’re friends with your ex. Why do you need so much male attention? It’s a huge red flag. I mean, haven’t you seen ‘When Harry Met Sally’?

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 22, 2024

“On the outside world, I would never date a friend’s ex. I would never befriend your ex.”

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 15, 2023

“A lot of people I’ve talked to are saying this reminds me of my ex. This reminds me of how my ex responded to the breakup,” she said.

From Seattle Times Apr. 13, 2022

Melania responded with a statement including the lines: "There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex. Unfortunately only attention seeking and self-serving noise."

From BBC Oct. 10, 2017

Finely illus. by O. Speckter. 50c.; ex. glt.

From The Youth's Coronal by Gould, Hannah Flagg

Ex.: “...then my roommate walked in and he... etc.”

From Slate Jun. 20, 2016

The first: "A bone of him shall not be broken," is merely the prescription with regard to the Paschal lamb, Ex. xii.

From Supernatural Religion, Vol. III. (of III) An Inquiry into the Reality of Divine Revelation by Cassels, Walter Richard

As this is a case of a married woman living in her father's house, Ex. xxii.

From The Old Testament In the Light of The Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia by Pinches, Theophilus Goldridge

Did the whole text of Ex. xx. 2-17 stand on the tables of stone?

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 10 "David, St" to "Demidov" by Various

It was published at Manila 1877–1883 for the friars of St. Augustine under the direction of H. Ex. the late Sebastiano Vidal y Soler, assisted scientifically by the able botanists, the Rev. Fathers Fr.

From Some notes on the bibliography of the Philippines by Middleton, Thomas Cooke

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