eject
Americanverb (used with object)
-
ejects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ejected,
past participle, past
-
ejecting
present participle
-
to drive or force out; expel, as from a place or position.
The police ejected the hecklers from the meeting.
-
to dismiss, as from office or occupancy.
-
to evict, as from property.
- Synonyms:
- dispossess, oust
-
to throw out, as from within; throw off.
verb (used without object)
-
ejects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ejected,
past participle, past
-
ejecting
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to drive or force out; expel or emit
-
(tr) to compel (a person) to leave; evict; dispossess
-
(tr) to dismiss, as from office
-
(intr) to leave an aircraft rapidly, using an ejection seat or capsule
-
(tr) psychiatry to attribute (one's own motivations and characteristics) to others
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ejectsimple
-
ejectssimple
-
have ejectedperfect
-
has ejectedperfect
-
am ejectingprogressive
-
are ejectingprogressive
-
is ejectingprogressive
-
have been ejectingperfect progressive
-
has been ejectingperfect progressive
Past
-
ejectedsimple
-
had ejectedperfect
-
was ejectingprogressive
-
were ejectingprogressive
-
had been ejectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of eject
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin ējectus “thrown out” (past participle of ējicere ), equivalent to ē- + jec- (combining form of jacere ) “to throw” + -tus past participle suffix; see e- 1
Explanation
It’s good to eject yourself from a burning spaceship (if you happen to have an escape pod and a nice small planet to land on), but if a teacher ejects you from class, well that’s not so good. Eject comes from “jectere,” the Latin word meaning throw, but the “e” means out. If you want to say, “throw the rascals out!” in only one word, you should choose, “eject!” The opposite of eject is inject. Thinking about the nurse throwing the measles vaccine into your arm makes that doctor’s visit seem a little less friendly.
Vocabulary lists containing eject
"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Latin Love, Vol II: iacere
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: ject
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Parsa, the owner who had to eject petty criminals, wishes she’d recorded some of the early craziness; her TikToks today focus on cash collection and cleaning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The pilot, the only person on board the aircraft, managed to eject from the jet before the crash, said Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Jacob Sugg.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Instead, they may act more like powerful cosmic digestive systems that take in matter, process it, and eject a surprising portion back into space.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
Manele has since avoided a vote of confidence, which would eject him and his government from power if he loses.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
I shake my head to eject such a revoltingly responsible thought out of it.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
The technique shines photons onto a material and ejects electrons from its surface, allowing researchers to map its electronic structure and magnetic states.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
Spivey's .45 caliber, like most firearms, ejects casingsbehind and to the right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
The search may have been hampered by the plane's anti-radar stealth capabilities and technology that wipes the jet's communications system if a pilot ejects.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2023
Researchers are still trying to understand how the collision ejects material, what the material is made of and how the resulting kilonova unfolds.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 9, 2023
He stops fights, ejects drunks, soothes hysteria, cures headaches, and tends bar.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Investigators believe he was ejected from his seat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
After a short review, Stephens was ejected for targeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Two pilots, a trainee and an experienced professional, who ejected and parachuted out of their plane moments before it crashed are expected to make a full recovery, the RAF has said.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The moment two RAF pilots ejected from a jet is splashed across the front page of the Daily Mirror, which says it is a "miracle" nobody was killed in the incident.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Writers and intellectuals, such as the world-famous novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, whose books depicted life in Soviet prison camps or gulags, were lucky by comparison—he merely found himself permanently ejected from his homeland in 1974.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
The rescue operation reportedly included an A-10 Warthog aircraft which was hit over the Gulf, with its pilot ejecting before being rescued.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2026
One crew member from the F-15 was rescued shortly after ejecting, but the second remained missing for days, prompting an urgent and highly coordinated recovery effort.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026
The pilot of the twin-engine, single-seat attack jet was able to fly out of Iranian airspace before ejecting from the aircraft and being rescued, they said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
But when he didn’t, third base umpire Tripp Gibson did the honors of ejecting him from the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2025
By the time he was twenty-three, and he got himself to an oral surgeon, they had rotated sideways inside his gums and were ejecting themselves through the tissue under his nose.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
