emit
Americanverb (used with object)
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emits,
present (3rd person singular)
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emitted,
past participle, past
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emitting
present participle
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to send forth (liquid, light, heat, sound, particles, etc.); discharge.
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to give forth or release (a sound).
He emitted one shrill cry and then was silent.
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to utter or voice, as opinions.
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to issue, as an order or a decree.
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to issue formally for circulation, as paper money.
verb
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to give or send forth; discharge
the pipe emitted a stream of water
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to give voice to; utter
she emitted a shrill scream
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physics to give off (radiation or particles)
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to put (currency) into circulation
Usage
What does emit mean? Emit means to release or discharge something, such as gas, liquid, heat, sound, light, or radiation. The process of emitting is called emission. Emission can also refer to something that has been emitted. A specific example of an emission is the exhaust emitted from cars (in the U. S., such emissions are regulated through emissions tests). This exhaust is just one form of carbon emissions—greenhouse gases emitted from various sources that are known to contribute to global warming and climate change. In things like TVs and light bulbs, the term LED stands for “light-emitting diode,” a semiconductor device that emits light when conducting current. Emit usually implies that things are being released in a passive way, but some senses of the word are more active. Emit sometimes specifically means to give off or make a sound, as in My cat emitted the worst sound when I accidentally stepped on his tail. It can also be used in a somewhat figurative way meaning to say or voice, as in She certainly emitted her opinion. Example: Collectively, volcanoes emit carbon dioxide at far lower levels than cars and airplanes.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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emitsimple
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emitssimple
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have emittedperfect
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has emittedperfect
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am emittingprogressive
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are emittingprogressive
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is emittingprogressive
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have been emittingperfect progressive
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has been emittingperfect progressive
Past
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emittedsimple
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had emittedperfect
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was emittingprogressive
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were emittingprogressive
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had been emittingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of emit
First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin ēmittere “to send forth,” from ē- e- 1 + mittere “to let go, send”
Explanation
To emit means to give off or let out, and it usually has a lot to do with gases, smells and noises. All of which could be potentially embarrassing, depending on where they're coming from. Lots of things can be emitted: body heat from your hands, high-pitched sound waves from a dog whistle, nasty odors from your mouth after a garlic-heavy lunch. Coming from the Latin emitter, it simply means to “send forth.” Since climate change is such a hot topic, you've probably heard people talking about how much CO₂ cars emit or how many greenhouse gases factories emit into the air.
Vocabulary lists containing emit
List 3
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Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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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:
Beyond their carbon footprints, they emit fine particulate matter, linked to a range of heart and lung problems; nitrogen oxides, which aggravate respiratory disease; and hazardous air pollutants including mercury, formaldehyde and benzene.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Galaxies continue to emit light, but that light may spend billions of years crossing the cosmos before reaching us.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
They included bricks that would play snatches of the iconic theme song and emit coin-collecting sound effects as Mario characters moved around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
A black hole itself does not emit light.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
As I did, the towering computers around me began to emit a cacophony of sound, like a grand orchestra tuning up.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
A single advanced chip fab can draw enormous amounts of water and electricity, and chip production as a whole emits well over 100 million tons of carbon equivalent a year.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Caputo said that phenomenon was expected and normal, because when the Sun is in its more active cyclical stages, it emits more particles and causes an expansion of Earth's atmosphere.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
The carbon footprint of a single LP was estimated to be roughly equal to the pollution a gas-powered vehicle emits over a three-mile trip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
As the white dwarf pulls gas from its companion, the material heats up and emits X-rays.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026
If the source is in motion from right to left, it emits spherical waves progressively centered on points 1 through 6, as shown.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
This prominence emitted strongly in light associated with hydrogen, allowing its original bright pink color to survive despite the atmospheric filtering.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
I told them I got mine hours ago and the group emitted a collective purr.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The vessel last emitted a radio transmission while it was off the coast of Yemen on June 11, according to ship tracking sites reviewed by AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
They say 99% of the carbon emitted by the airport is from planes, and have urged council leaders to reject plans to allow the airport to expand its flights.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
It was so massive, it emitted its own gravitational field.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
Corporal Joshua Swisher was conducting a traffic stop on a motorway when he was alerted to a nearby vehicle emitting smoke.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The cells operate independent of traditional power grids and are highly efficient, Bloom says, emitting only heat and clean water.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Kevin Wagner, vice president of the medical sterilizer company Sterigenics, messaged asking that nine facilities emitting the carcinogenic gas ethylene oxide, including near Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Charlotte and Atlanta, be exempted.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
But many LED bulbs are installed with a much higher color temperature, near 4,000 Kelvins, which our brains interpret as harsh and bright, regardless of how many lumens they’re actually emitting.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
It didn’t make a sound, and he saw nothing emitting from it.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
