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• exodus
  exodus

  noun

  a going out; a departure or emigration, usually of a large number of people.
• Exodus
  Exodus

  noun

  the departure of the Israelites from Egypt led by Moses

exodus

American  

[ek-suh-duhs] / ˈɛk sə dəs /

noun

1. a going out; a departure or emigration, usually of a large number of people.

   the summer exodus to the country and shore.

2. the Exodus, the departure of the Israelites from Egypt under Moses.

3. (initial capital letter) the second book of the Bible, containing an account of the Exodus. Ex.

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exodus ¹ British  

/ ˈɛksədəs /

noun

1. the act or an instance of going out

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Exodus ² British  

/ ˈɛksədəs /

noun

1. the departure of the Israelites from Egypt led by Moses

2. the second book of the Old Testament, recounting the events connected with this and the divine visitation of Moses at Mount Sinai

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Exodus Cultural  

1. The second book of the Old Testament; it tells of the departure of the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt (see also Egypt), made possible by the ten plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. Moses led them, and their destination was the Promised Land. God guided them by sending a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to show them the way they should go. God also fed them with manna and gave them water out of a solid rock. Because of their frequent complaining and failure to trust him, however, God made them stay in the desert for forty years before entering the Promised Land. God gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Mosaic law on Mount Sinai during the Exodus. Exodus is a Greek word meaning “departure.”

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Etymology

Origin of exodus

First recorded before 1000; from Late Latin, the name of the second book of the Bible, from Greek éxodos “a going out, marching out,” equivalent to ex- “out of” + (h)odós “way”; see ex- ³

Explanation

If the fire alarm goes off in your building, be sure to join the exodus of people who are heading outside to the parking lot. This is a departure of a large number of people. Exodus is the title of the second book of the Bible’s Old Testament in which the Israelites escape slavery in Egypt, but the term can refer to any sudden departure of a group of people. This noun is often coupled with the adjective mass, as in “mass exodus,” which usually indicates that almost everyone leaves at the same time. The reasons for this departure can be hostile, as during a war, or not, as when everyone exits the movie theater after the show's over.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exodus Exodus

When Melton became mayor in 2024, he said he sought advice from Detroit’s then-mayor, Mike Duggan, who had helped revitalize his city by eliminating blighted buildings and curbing the population exodus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

An exodus of rural migrants to postwar Washington, D.C., sparked a country-music boom that transformed that city’s nightlife.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The young man is part of a huge exodus of people from Myanmar seeking sanctuary in the Thai border town of Mae Sot.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

The exodus and the ageing of the ethnic Slavic population -- many descendants of people forcibly resettled there in the Soviet era -- and the lack of economic prospects are all driving the internal migration.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

“The mass exodus of the children of Abnegation leaders cannot be ignored or attributed to coincidence,” he reads.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

The Book of Exodus famously renders this principle as “an eye for an eye,” making revenge anatomical, as if it were as natural as we are.

From Salon ● May 19, 2026

I also sang in the jazz band and was the lead singer in a Christian rock band called Exodus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026

And so the plans for Operation Exodus were set: The Rainbow Warrior would move the entire population of Rongelap 100 miles south, to the uninhabited island of Mejato.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025

As his skills evolved, he formed a new band called Exodus, which would ultimately be an important player in the first wave of thrash metal in San Francisco.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025

Father would say, “No. Exodus Twenty Thirteen, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’”

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Related Words

• departure
• evacuation
• flight
• migration
• withdrawal