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
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have excretedperfect
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has excretedperfect 3rd person singular
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are excretingprogressive
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have been excretingperfect progressive
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excretessingular 3rd person
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excretingparticiple
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am excretingprogressive 1st person singular
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is excretingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been excretingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had excretedperfect
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had been excretingperfect progressive
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were excretingprogressive plural
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excretedparticiple
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was excretingprogressive singular
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excretedsimple
Future
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.
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 • Oct. 25, 2025
The body can then easily excrete the metals.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 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
Many other plants disperse their seeds via animals and birds that eat their fruits and excrete the seeds as they move around.
From Salon • Nov. 9, 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.
