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
-
defecatesimple
-
defecatessimple
-
have defecatedperfect
-
has defecatedperfect
-
am defecatingprogressive
-
are defecatingprogressive
-
is defecatingprogressive
-
have been defecatingperfect progressive
-
has been defecatingperfect progressive
Past
-
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:
Meanwhile, the locals in the nearby town of Gerlach, Nevada, worried about where all those people planned to defecate.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
"We've been encouraged to reduce all the time by fencing cattle away from riverbanks, so they don't tread the banks and defecate in the river," said Henry Collins, of the Wylye Valley Farmers.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 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
Ducks poop everywhere because they’re impossible to potty train — they don’t have sphincters to control when and where they defecate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2024
The body makes me feel like it wants to defecate and vomit.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
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
"I mean, somebody who defecates in public has mental health issues. It's as simple as that. If you're socialised, that's the last thing that you would do."
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2018
He’s now on a mission to promote better sanitation in India, a country where half the population still defecates in the open.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 25, 2017
She routinely accidentally passes gas, and occasionally actually accidentally defecates.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2014
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
People defecated on the sidewalk or in yards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2024
Children hung their bottoms over the edge and defecated directly onto the squelchy, sucking mud of the exposed riverbed.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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
Toilets crawling with rats, maggots and flies became so noxious that neighbors began defecating on the surrounding dirt roads.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
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
His top hat tumbled; urinating, defecating, Perry O’Parsons entered eternity.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
