exhaust

American  

[ig-zawst] / ɪgˈzɔst /

verb (used with object)

• exhausts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• exhausted,
  past participle,  past
• exhausting
  present participle

1. to drain of strength or energy, wear out, or fatigue greatly, as a person.

   I have exhausted myself working.

   Synonyms:

   debilitate, prostrate, enervate, tire

   Antonyms:

   invigorate, strengthen

2. to use up or consume completely; expend the whole of.

   He exhausted a fortune in stock-market speculation.

   Synonyms:

   dissipate, squander, waste

3. to draw out all that is essential in (a subject, topic, etc.); treat or study thoroughly.

4. to empty by drawing out the contents.

   to exhaust a tank of fuel oil.

   Synonyms:

   void

   Antonyms:

   fill

5. to create a vacuum in.

6. to draw out or drain off completely.

7. to deprive wholly of useful or essential properties, possessions, resources, etc.

8. Chemistry, Pharmacology. to deprive of ingredients by the use of solvents, as a drug.

9. to destroy the fertility of (soil), as by intensive cultivation.

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verb (used without object)

• exhausts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• exhausted,
  past participle,  past
• exhausting
  present participle

1. to pass out or escape, as spent steam from the cylinder of an engine.

noun

Machinery.

• exhausts
  plural

1. the escape of steam or gases from the cylinder of an engine.

2. the steam or gases ejected.

   Synonyms:

   vapor, smoke, fume

3. Also called exhaust system.  the parts of an engine through which the exhaust is ejected.

exhaust British  

/ ɪɡˈzɔːst /

verb

1. to drain the energy of; tire out

   to exhaust someone by constant questioning

2. to deprive of resources, etc

   a nation exhausted by war

3. to deplete totally; expend; consume

   to exhaust food supplies

4. to empty (a container) by drawing off or pumping out (the contents)

5. to develop or discuss thoroughly so that no further interest remains

   to exhaust a topic of conversation

6. to remove gas from (a vessel, etc) in order to reduce the pressure or create a vacuum; evacuate

7. to remove or use up the active ingredients from (a drug, solution, etc)

8. to destroy the fertility of (soil) by excessive cultivation

9. (intr) (of steam or other gases) to be emitted or to escape from an engine after being expanded

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noun

1. gases ejected from an engine as waste products

2. 1. the expulsion of expanded gas or steam from an engine

   2. ( as modifier )

      exhaust stroke

3. 1. the parts of an engine through which the exhausted gases or steam pass

   2. ( as modifier )

      exhaust valve

      exhaust pipe

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• exhauster
  noun
• exhaustibility
  noun
• multiexhaust
  noun
• preexhaust
  verb (used with object)
• exhausted
  adjective
• exhaustible
  adjective
• exhausting
  adjective
• nonexhausted
  adjective
• nonexhaustible
  adjective
• unexhausted
  adjective
• unexhaustedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• exhausts
  plural

Participles

• exhausting
  present
• exhausted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• exhaust
  simple
• exhausts
  simple
• have exhausted
  perfect
• has exhausted
  perfect
• am exhausting
  progressive
• are exhausting
  progressive
• is exhausting
  progressive
• have been exhausting
  perfect progressive
• has been exhausting
  perfect progressive

Past

• exhausted
  simple
• had exhausted
  perfect
• was exhausting
  progressive
• were exhausting
  progressive
• had been exhausting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will exhaust
  simple
• will have exhausted
  perfect
• will be exhausting
  progressive
• will have been exhausting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of exhaust

1515–25; 1895–1900 exhaust for def. 11; < Latin exhaustus emptied out, drained out, past participle of exhaurīre

Explanation

The noun exhaust refers to what comes out of your car's tailpipe. It consists of the burned gases and particulate matter that are created by the engine. As a verb, the word exhaust means to use something up, such as a food supply or your energy. The exhaust system in your car is the part that takes the waste created by the car in the form of gas or smoke and expels it through the tailpipe. The noun exhaust appeared in the 19th century, after the invention of the engine. Before that, the word, as a verb, referred only to depleting something, such as a natural resource. Miners deplete a mineral deposit and exhaust the resource.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exhaust exhausts exhausted exhausting

Diesel exhaust is a carcinogen and has long been a priority for port communities and others along heavy transport routes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

"Kimi from 15 days old was in the garage and heard the sound of the engine and the smell of the exhaust," says Marco, who worked with his wife Veronica on their racing team business.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Arevalo is one of 10 street vendors testing whether they can ditch petrol generators to reduce noise, planet-warming emissions and health risks posed by exhaust fumes.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

As the din of clanking metal dims, the smell of grease and exhaust lingers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The Nichrome wire was lying in the charred remains of the cork, which had either slipped or been pushed out of place by the aborted exhaust.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

A Greek Orthodox Christian and a protégé of tech billionaire Peter Thiel, Kratsios argued that when AI exhausts human knowledge, humanity will look beyond reason for ultimate answers about man’s place in the universe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

George Atef, a 38-year-old Egyptian civil servant in Kuwait, said: "What exhausts me most is not knowing when this situation will end -- the waiting itself has become draining."

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

A white dwarf forms when a star exhausts the hydrogen fuel needed for nuclear fusion in its core but lacks the mass required to explode as a core-collapse supernova.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 8, 2026

When I’m gone, they tuck her in, and at 2 a.m., when she pops up like a jack-in-the-box, giggling and whining, they sit with her until she exhausts herself and falls back to sleep.

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2025

The rocket stood in the cold winter morning, making summer with every breath of its mighty exhausts.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

“Yeah, I was pretty exhausted after the touchdown,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

“I am so tired!” she said, and laughed with the near-hysteria of someone genuinely exhausted.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

"In about a space of five months, I had venesection seven or eight times. So you can imagine my iron levels hit the floor and I felt even more exhausted," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

“You just kind of get annoyed and exhausted, because you think it’s an opportunity and it really isn’t,” she said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026

A few hours later, while the exhausted Don Quixote was still asleep, they grabbed him and put him in the cage.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

But it may be more exhausting than thrilling to learn in the closing, apocalypse-ratcheting minutes that Na has more of his story planned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

The findings indicate that rapidly exhausting neutral hydrogen cannot by itself explain why star formation has declined so strongly.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

The exhausting combination of heavy demands and a shrinking fleet is producing longer deployments—and wearing out crews and capital assets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Another source of strain: In peacetime, the ports were used for rest and recuperation by sailors seeking a break from an aircraft carrier’s crammed quarters and exhausting routines.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

I wind up exhausting the listener before I even get to the verb.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Related Words

• drain
• fatigue
• frazzle
• impoverish
• overwork
• sap
• tire out
• use up
• weaken
• wear out
• weary