excrete
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to discharge (waste matter, such as urine, sweat, carbon dioxide, or faeces) from the body through the kidneys, skin, lungs, bowels, etc
-
(of plants) to eliminate (waste matter, such as carbon dioxide and salts) through the leaves, roots, etc
Other Word Forms
- excreter noun
- excretion noun
- excretive adjective
- unexcreted adjective
Etymology
Origin of excrete
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin excrētus “sifted out,” past participle of excernere “to sift out, separate,” from ex- ex- 1 + cernere “to decide, separate, sift”
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.
In 2022, Dudley worked with collaborators in Panama to show that wild spider monkeys consume fermented fruit containing alcohol and later excrete alcohol metabolites in their urine.
From Science Daily
Camels help it spread by eating the pods and excreting them far and wide.
From Barron's
To understand how reptiles manage to excrete these crystals safely, Jennifer Swift and her research team analyzed urates from more than 20 species.
From Science Daily
He was excreting things he had never seen in his stool before and feeling things he had never felt before.
From Salon
When water is lost, the body also excretes key electrolytes such as potassium and sodium.
From Salon
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.
