exhaust

American  

[ig-zawst] / ɪgˈzɔst /

verb (used with object)

• exhausts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• exhausted,
  past participle,  past
• exhausting
  present participle

1. to drain of strength or energy, wear out, or fatigue greatly, as a person.

   I have exhausted myself working.

   Synonyms:

   debilitate, prostrate, enervate, tire

   Antonyms:

   invigorate, strengthen

2. to use up or consume completely; expend the whole of.

   He exhausted a fortune in stock-market speculation.

   Synonyms:

   dissipate, squander, waste

3. to draw out all that is essential in (a subject, topic, etc.); treat or study thoroughly.

4. to empty by drawing out the contents.

   to exhaust a tank of fuel oil.

   Synonyms:

   void

   Antonyms:

   fill

5. to create a vacuum in.

6. to draw out or drain off completely.

7. to deprive wholly of useful or essential properties, possessions, resources, etc.

8. Chemistry, Pharmacology. to deprive of ingredients by the use of solvents, as a drug.

9. to destroy the fertility of (soil), as by intensive cultivation.

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verb (used without object)

• exhausts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• exhausted,
  past participle,  past
• exhausting
  present participle

1. to pass out or escape, as spent steam from the cylinder of an engine.

noun

Machinery.

• exhausts
  plural

1. the escape of steam or gases from the cylinder of an engine.

2. the steam or gases ejected.

   Synonyms:

   vapor, smoke, fume

3. Also called exhaust system.  the parts of an engine through which the exhaust is ejected.

exhaust British  

/ ɪɡˈzɔːst /

verb

1. to drain the energy of; tire out

   to exhaust someone by constant questioning

2. to deprive of resources, etc

   a nation exhausted by war

3. to deplete totally; expend; consume

   to exhaust food supplies

4. to empty (a container) by drawing off or pumping out (the contents)

5. to develop or discuss thoroughly so that no further interest remains

   to exhaust a topic of conversation

6. to remove gas from (a vessel, etc) in order to reduce the pressure or create a vacuum; evacuate

7. to remove or use up the active ingredients from (a drug, solution, etc)

8. to destroy the fertility of (soil) by excessive cultivation

9. (intr) (of steam or other gases) to be emitted or to escape from an engine after being expanded

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noun

1. gases ejected from an engine as waste products

2. 1. the expulsion of expanded gas or steam from an engine

   2. ( as modifier )

      exhaust stroke

3. 1. the parts of an engine through which the exhausted gases or steam pass

   2. ( as modifier )

      exhaust valve

      exhaust pipe

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• exhauster
  noun
• exhaustibility
  noun
• multiexhaust
  noun
• preexhaust
  verb (used with object)
• exhausted
  adjective
• exhaustible
  adjective
• exhausting
  adjective
• nonexhausted
  adjective
• nonexhaustible
  adjective
• unexhausted
  adjective
• unexhaustedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• exhausts
  plural

Participles

• exhausting
  present
• exhausted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• exhaust
  simple
• exhausts
  simple
• have exhausted
  perfect
• has exhausted
  perfect
• am exhausting
  progressive
• are exhausting
  progressive
• is exhausting
  progressive
• have been exhausting
  perfect progressive
• has been exhausting
  perfect progressive

Past

• exhausted
  simple
• had exhausted
  perfect
• was exhausting
  progressive
• were exhausting
  progressive
• had been exhausting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will exhaust
  simple
• will have exhausted
  perfect
• will be exhausting
  progressive
• will have been exhausting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of exhaust

1515–25; 1895–1900 exhaust for def. 11; < Latin exhaustus emptied out, drained out, past participle of exhaurīre

Explanation

The noun exhaust refers to what comes out of your car's tailpipe. It consists of the burned gases and particulate matter that are created by the engine. As a verb, the word exhaust means to use something up, such as a food supply or your energy. The exhaust system in your car is the part that takes the waste created by the car in the form of gas or smoke and expels it through the tailpipe. The noun exhaust appeared in the 19th century, after the invention of the engine. Before that, the word, as a verb, referred only to depleting something, such as a natural resource. Miners deplete a mineral deposit and exhaust the resource.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exhaust exhausts exhausted exhausting

It's a situation F1 forced on itself by removing the MGU-H, which recovered energy from the turbo and exhaust, and not allowing recovery from the front axle.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

But he still makes his fair share of on-site repairs for drivers who accidentally sheared off a side mirror or rooftop exhaust fan in their scramble to make it to an event.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Arevalo is one of 10 street vendors testing whether they can ditch petrol generators to reduce noise, planet-warming emissions and health risks posed by exhaust fumes.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

As the din of clanking metal dims, the smell of grease and exhaust lingers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Fleeting whiffs of exhaust and smoke mixed with eucalyptus and oleander.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

When a massive star exhausts its nuclear fuel, its core collapses and triggers a dramatic explosion known as a supernova.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2026

Her construction project has begun and she hopes to move in by August -- before the $4,000 monthly rent she pays for a furnished apartment exhausts the housing allowance from her insurance.

From Barron's ● Jan. 4, 2026

But for the audience, those sentiments more accurately reflect Ramsay’s film, a slow burn that exhausts its welcome and dies in a blaze after losing its grip on a meandering narrative.

From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2025

Judges then stunned the nation by ordering Sarkozy to swiftly start serving his sentence, dispensing with the usual practice of waiting until a white-collar convict exhausts the appeals process.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

The emotion of their reunions exhausts them so that they often nap together under a tree, or in Ivanito’s narrow bunk bed.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

The Met said its detectives had "exhausted numerous lines of enquiry - including working with coroners – to identify whether Levy is responsible for any similar, unsolved incidents, including deaths".

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Once he had exhausted all means of appeal in February for his EU request for protection, he decided to try his luck outside the bloc -- by crossing the Channel from France to the UK.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

For more than a decade it has been a frontline, the first Greek soil that exhausted, terrified people touch when they cross from Turkey in boats that were never built for open water.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

Medicaid is there for people who have exhausted their own resources.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

After all that work, I’m exhausted, but then it’s time to go to the well to collect water.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

Finding the perfect position appeasing those on either side of an issue is exhausting work and prone to error.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

Her car offers air conditioning and privacy, but the living conditions are "exhausting", Nishiyama said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Being of older maternal age, I found the pregnancy exhausting, and it was tiring keeping up with my child during his baby and toddler years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

The former captain has seen it all in a record 320 matches, 199 of them in charge over nine exhausting yet era-defining years.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

“I can’t imagine how exhausting that must be.”

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• drain
• fatigue
• frazzle
• impoverish
• overwork
• sap
• tire out
• use up
• weaken
• wear out
• weary