defecate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
defecates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
defecated,
past participle, past
-
defecating
present participle
-
to void excrement from the bowels through the anus; have a bowel movement.
-
to become clear of dregs, impurities, etc.
verb (used with object)
-
defecates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
defecated,
past participle, past
-
defecating
present participle
verb
-
(intr) to discharge waste from the body through the anus
-
(tr) to clarify or remove impurities from (a solution, esp of sugar)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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defecatesimple
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defecatessimple
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have defecatedperfect
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has defecatedperfect
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am defecatingprogressive
-
are defecatingprogressive
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is defecatingprogressive
-
have been defecatingperfect progressive
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has been defecatingperfect progressive
Past
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defecatedsimple
-
had defecatedperfect
-
was defecatingprogressive
-
were defecatingprogressive
-
had been defecatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of defecate
First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin dēfaecātus (past participle of dēfaecāre “to cleanse, refine”), equivalent to dē- de- + faec- (stem of faex “dregs, sediment”) + -ātus -ate 1
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:
Citizen Zoo has also set up camera traps and "latrine rafts" - floating rafts where the water voles defecate - to help gather evidence of the population on the Hogsmill.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Meanwhile, the locals in the nearby town of Gerlach, Nevada, worried about where all those people planned to defecate.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
Consider, then, taking in a mammal that can fell a tree, chew through wire, weighs 30 to 60 pounds full-grown, loves to wrestle, needs to swim and can only defecate in water.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
In the cooler months of the year — historically from April to September — snakes become sluggish and may not eat, drink, defecate or even move for weeks at a time.
From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2024
He went first to defecate, behind a rock, though no one was watching.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
Then the bird defecates all over her wedding dress.
From New York Times ● May 29, 2020
We see her meet-cute with Henry Golding when a bird defecates into one of her eyes.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 16, 2019
After she is fired from her job for napping in the supply closet, she defecates on the floor of the gallery.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 2, 2018
Snaps at people, defecates indoors, knows no boundaries.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2017
The hungry animal plucks and swallows the fruit, walks or flies off, and then spits out or defecates the seed somewhere far from its parent tree.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
A man tried to wrestle a Canada goose, while a woman defecated at the edge of the park’s lake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
The digital pets, which need attending to when they are hungry, sick or have defecated on the virtual floor, grow up as users care for them -- but can die if they are neglected.
From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 2026
Between us, we have defecated in cat holes, WAG bags, and oil drums alongside service members of different genders and sexual identities.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2025
The scientists have fed the bats pawpaw fruit and, once the bats have defecated on the tarpaulin, they take swabs of the bright orange droppings and store them in test tubes.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2023
The prisoners urinated and defecated wherever they could.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
Suddenly, Stacy must confront that cabin and her dread of defecating in an outhouse.
From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2026
The town's authorities report that tourists were "opening private home doors without permission to use the restroom," trespassing, littering and "defecating in private yards and raising a fuss when residents pointed this out".
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
And within moments of introducing him, the camera captures him defecating in the open because he has no other choice.
From Salon ● Jan. 17, 2026
They’ve complained about TikTokers trespassing onto countryside farms, tourists defecating on private property and near-fist fights over trailhead parking—not to mention unsafe traffic blockages on narrow roads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2025
These children defecating earnestly or weakly, according to their destiny, in the bushes?
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
