egress
Americannoun
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the act or an instance of going, especially from an enclosed place.
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a means or place of going out; an exit.
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the right or permission to go out.
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Astronomy. emersion.
verb (used without object)
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egresses,
present (3rd person singular)
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egressed,
past participle, past
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egressing
present participle
noun
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Also called: egression. the act of going or coming out; emergence
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a way out, such as a path; exit
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the right or permission to go out or depart
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astronomy another name for emersion
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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egresssimple
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egressessimple
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have egressedperfect
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has egressedperfect
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am egressingprogressive
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are egressingprogressive
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is egressingprogressive
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have been egressingperfect progressive
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has been egressingperfect progressive
Past
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egressedsimple
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had egressedperfect
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was egressingprogressive
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were egressingprogressive
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had been egressingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing egress
Into the Wild
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"The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe
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By the Roots: Grad-, Gress-: to step
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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:
In real fires, with darkness, smoke, people in various states of injury impeding one another, falls on stairs, counterflows and hesitation, theoretical egress capacities inferred from other evacuations break down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 4, 2026
The roads on either side of a bridge that serves as the sole artery allowing entrance and egress to the neighborhood were washed out, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2025
Those specific locations would contribute to modulating the viral replication cycle, adaptability, and path of entry and egress.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2024
Those who egress from cults are often assisted by former fellow cult members.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2023
Had he known that he was about to enter a tunnel whose only egress was his own annihilation, would he have turned away?
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
But now it has become almost a regular occurrence, as winds and new tidal currents trap an overflow of water behind the lagoon's three egresses.
From Time Magazine Archive
Hsiang-lien then got up and quitted the room, and perceiving every one off his guard, he egressed out of the main entrance.
From Hung Lou Meng, Book II Or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel in Two Books by H. Bencraft Joly
But while she yet spoke, they perceived a whole bevy of people, pressing round lady Feng, as she egressed from the apartment.
From Hung Lou Meng, Book I Or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel in Two Books by H. Bencraft Joly
But after a brief interval, they egressed with the basins and rinsing cups.
From Hung Lou Meng, Book II Or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel in Two Books by H. Bencraft Joly
On inquiry we learn that since the fire at the Tower he has secluded himself in his own Harmer-y, and has not egressed from “Ingress Abbey,” for fear of incendiaries.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, November 13, 1841 by Various
Madame Wang and Li Wan, lady Feng, Pao Ch'ai and the other young ladies noticed, meanwhile, that the doctor had gone, and they eventually egressed from the back of the mosquito-house.
From Hung Lou Meng, Book II Or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel in Two Books by H. Bencraft Joly
This effected, we blocked up its egressing mouth, that, should our escape be discovered, the enemy might not find the direct road we had taken.
From The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter
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.
