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Synonyms

eject

American  
[ih-jekt] / ɪˈdʒɛkt /

verb (used with object)

  • ejects,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • ejected,
    past participle,  past
  • ejecting
    present participle
  1. to drive or force out; expel, as from a place or position.

    The police ejected the hecklers from the meeting.

    Synonyms:
    remove, oust
  2. to dismiss, as from office or occupancy.

  3. to evict, as from property.

    Synonyms:
    dispossess, oust
  4. to throw out, as from within; throw off.


verb (used without object)

  • ejects,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • ejected,
    past participle,  past
  • ejecting
    present participle
  1. to propel oneself from a damaged or malfunctioning airplane, as by an ejection seat.

    When the plane caught fire, the pilot ejected.

eject British  
/ ɪˈdʒɛkt /

verb

  1. (tr) to drive or force out; expel or emit

  2. (tr) to compel (a person) to leave; evict; dispossess

  3. (tr) to dismiss, as from office

  4. (intr) to leave an aircraft rapidly, using an ejection seat or capsule

  5. (tr) psychiatry to attribute (one's own motivations and characteristics) to others

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing eject

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:

GMB convener Chris Mitchell made the appeal after a bin lorry crew was forced to eject rubbish that had caught fire onto the street in Glasgow city centre.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The pilot, the only person on board the aircraft, managed to eject from the jet before the crash, said Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Jacob Sugg.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Instead, they may act more like powerful cosmic digestive systems that take in matter, process it, and eject a surprising portion back into space.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

The side effects from a big increase in air conditioning are considered to be large: The devices are costly; they are energy hungry; and they eject hot air into the street, warming cities even more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Five members of the eight-man crew managed to eject safely and open their parachutes.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

The technique shines photons onto a material and ejects electrons from its surface, allowing researchers to map its electronic structure and magnetic states.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

Spivey's .45 caliber, like most firearms, ejects casingsbehind and to the right.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025

The search may have been hampered by the plane's anti-radar stealth capabilities and technology that wipes the jet's communications system if a pilot ejects.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2023

Researchers are still trying to understand how the collision ejects material, what the material is made of and how the resulting kilonova unfolds.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 9, 2023

The awesome supernova explosion ejects into space most of the matter of the precursor star—a little residual hydrogen and helium and significant amounts of other atoms, carbon and silicon, iron and uranium.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

They would place their little shard of pottery—the ostracon—inscribed with their villain’s name, on a table and the unfortunate candidate would be ejected if the votes added up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Investigators believe he was ejected from his seat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

The Sun leads with a "£20m crash probe" after "two pilots steered away from buildings and ejected before the Hawk T2 nosedived and exploded near RAF Valley, North Wales, last month".

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Brittany Landry, who believed she saw Kariem ejected from the rollercoaster, told Fox News she was in tears.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

A blinding, electric-blue hole ripped the very air next to Mr. Flux, and a man ejected from it feet first, as if from the end of a steep waterslide.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

At La Albufera National Park, a protected coastal wetland covering 21,000 hectares south of Valencia, officials have spent the past week turning away or ejecting unauthorized onlookers attempting to enter restricted areas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

One crew member from the F-15 was rescued shortly after ejecting, but the second remained missing for days, prompting an urgent and highly coordinated recovery effort.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026

The rescue operation included an A-10 Warthog plane that was hit over the Gulf, with its pilot ejecting before being rescued, according to CBS.

From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026

The Bruins leader said he thought Steven Jamerson II tried to take out an opponent, but the coach said he had a poor view and apologized for ejecting the player.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026

“I thought I really had it,” I say, staring at this machine ejecting an amazing yellow card, like a credit card, all for me.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

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