defenestrate

American  

[dee-fen-uh-streyt] / diˈfɛn əˌstreɪt /

verb (used with object)

defenestrated, defenestrating

1. to throw (a person or thing) out of a window.

   A Portuguese bishop, accused of conspiring with the leaders of Castile, was defenestrated from the north tower of Lisbon's cathedral in 1383.

2. to suddenly remove (a person) from an important position or office.

   The chief executive was defenestrated after a corruption investigation.

---

Etymology

Origin of defenestrate

First recorded in 1900–05; back formation from defenestration ( def. )

Explanation

The verb defenestrate describes throwing someone or something out of a window. Drivers who defenestrate gum wrappers may not think they're littering, but they are. The Latin word for window, fenestra, is the origin of defenestrate, as well as a historical incident in 1618 in which some Protestants threw Catholics out a window, starting the Thirty Years War and becoming known as the "Defenestration of Prague."If you're so furious that you throw your television out the window of your house, you can put an impressive spin on it when you later explain, "I felt the need to defenestrate my television."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

defenestrate defenestrated defenestrating

Keir Starmer has evidently convinced his Cabinet not to defenestrate him, at least for the moment.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2026

Not only did she defenestrate the queen of heptathlon, Belgium’s Nafi Thiam, to take gold, she also set four personal bests and beat Ennis-Hill’s British record along the way.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 7, 2020

But beyond that, one staffer’s willingness to defenestrate herself dramatically will differ from another’s ambitions.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 6, 2018

And, as this summer and fall have shown, she can expertly defenestrate an adversary when the situation calls for it.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 1, 2016

The week before that was defenestrate, compliments of me.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

Mr. Starmer’s pitch two years ago was that his Labour Party would be more stable, yet now he’s been defenestrated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

And yet a friend of Sir Olly Robbins, the defenestrated lead civil servant in the Foreign Office, said the soon to be former mandarin was being unfairly traduced.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026

A housekeeper brings Kerry's household remains in a bag, which the defenestrated side piece accidentally dumps on the floor.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2023

I defenestrated the other half of the cake in the same manner, to similar sound effect.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 3, 2023

At No. 10 Downing Street, Margaret Thatcher is gone, savagely defenestrated a year earlier by treacherous members of her own party.

From New York Times ● Nov. 7, 2022

Ohio State missed out last year because of that one loss to Purdue, and defenestrating Michigan yet again wasn’t enough consolation.

From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2019

Just look at North Korea or Zimbabwe, where the economies have been disastrous for years without soldiers defenestrating their leaders.

From Economist ● Jul. 21, 2016

You were not obligated to handle the situation by defenestrating your number two.What happened was mortifying, but you dealt with it as best you could.

From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2012