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
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(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.
The body can then easily excrete the metals.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2024
They are also essential to the preservation of tropical forests, with 70 to 90 percent of their tree species depending on frugivores to eat, spread and excrete their seeds.
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2024
First, cicadas eat xylem sap, and most xylem feeders only pee in droplets because it uses less energy to excrete the sap.
From Science Daily • Mar. 11, 2024
To mark their territory, both beaver species deposit mud piles on the ground and excrete castoreum on top.
From National Geographic • Nov. 15, 2023
Rabbits will not excrete underground and Kehaar’s habit of fouling his own nest had always disgusted Hazel.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
