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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 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 ² British  

/ ˈɛksədəs /

noun

1. the act or an instance of going out

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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

The new funds come after an exodus of worried investors from private-credit funds marketed to individual investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Begum arrived in Cox's Bazar in 2017 and in April joined the still growing exodus of refugees to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand as conditions in the camps deteriorated.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

But its former leaders worry that with the exodus of attorneys and the changing nature of the division’s approach, it has lost the ability to fulfill its mission.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

U.S. stock-market funds suffered $8.5 billion in outflows in the week to Wednesday, the first such exodus of investors since hostilities kicked off with Iran back in March.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026

It was the biggest exodus in Pashtun history.

From "Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai

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

Operation Exodus was an enormous undertaking, one that was profoundly meaningful to the crew because, as McDiarmid said, “it wasn’t about weapons and technology and missile silos. These were human beings.”

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025

The latest numbers for calendar year 2024 confirm the end of the so-called California Exodus that saw the Golden State’s population shrink for the first time in decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025

Did America shift under my feet, or did it stand still while I stomped along my road toward whatever I’m chasing, following a column of smoke through my own Exodus?

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• departure
• evacuation
• flight
• migration
• withdrawal