egress

American  

[ee-gres, ih-gres] / ˈi grɛs, ɪˈgrɛs /

noun

1. the act or an instance of going, especially from an enclosed place.

2. a means or place of going out; an exit.

3. the right or permission to go out.

4. Astronomy. emersion.

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verb (used without object)

egresses, present (3rd person singular) egressed, past participle, past egressing present participle

1. to go out; emerge.

egress British  

noun

1. Also called: egression.  the act of going or coming out; emergence

2. a way out, such as a path; exit

3. the right or permission to go out or depart

4. astronomy another name for emersion

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verb

1. to go forth; issue

Other Word Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has egressed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have egressed
  perfect
• is egressing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• has been egressing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been egressing
  perfect progressive
• are egressing
  progressive
• am egressing
  progressive 1st person singular
• egresses
  singular 3rd person
• egressing
  participle

Past

• had egressed
  perfect
• was egressing
  progressive singular
• had been egressing
  perfect progressive
• were egressing
  progressive plural
• egressed
  simple
• egressed
  participle

Future

• will egress
  simple
• will have egressed
  perfect
• will have been egressing
  perfect progressive
• will be egressing
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of egress

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin ēgressus “an escape, exit,” noun use of past participle of ēgred(ī) “to go out,” from ē- e- ¹ + -gredī, combining form of gradī “to go, step”; cf. grade

Explanation

If you want to leave a place, you need a means of egress, or a way to exit, such as a door or window. It was a beautiful old house, but without enough ways of egress, they needed outdoor fire-stairs for reaching the upper floors. Egress comes from a Latin word meaning "going out." An egress is basically the same thing as an exit. (Egress can also be used as a verb, "to exit," but less frequently than as a noun.) When buildings undergo inspection, one of the main safety features under review is the number and placement of doors and windows, the "means of egress," in case of fire or other emergency.