excrete

American  

[ik-skreet] / ɪkˈskrit /

verb (used with object)

excreted, excreting

1. to separate and eliminate from an organic body; separate and expel from the blood or tissues, as waste or harmful matter.

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excrete British  

/ ɪkˈskriːt /

verb

1. to discharge (waste matter, such as urine, sweat, carbon dioxide, or faeces) from the body through the kidneys, skin, lungs, bowels, etc

2. (of plants) to eliminate (waste matter, such as carbon dioxide and salts) through the leaves, roots, etc

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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

Your body also produces about 700 milligrams of sulfites daily as you metabolize the protein in your food and excrete it as sulfate.

From Salon • Dec. 16, 2024

He’s heard that by exposing it to the perfect cheeseball pop song — upbeat, sincere — it will excrete a natural hallucinogenic: a profitable slime.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 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

A handful of labs are studying bats from other genera, and initial findings suggest they have varying abilities to excrete and transmit the pandemic virus.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 4, 2023

I looked up as I ran under some trees, other­wise peafowl might excrete on me.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Related Words

• discharge
• secrete