exhaust

[ ig-zawst ]

/ ɪgˈzɔst /

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verb (used with object)

to drain of strength or energy, wear out, or fatigue greatly, as a person: I have exhausted myself working.

to use up or consume completely; expend the whole of: He exhausted a fortune in stock-market speculation.

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

to empty by drawing out the contents: to exhaust a tank of fuel oil.

to create a vacuum in.

to draw out or drain off completely.

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

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

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

verb (used without object)

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

noun Machinery.

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

the steam or gases ejected.

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

RELATED WORDS

inadequate, limited, modest

Nearby words

exfoliative dermatitis, exfoliative gastritis, exhalant, exhalation, exhale, exhaust, exhaust fan, exhaust manifold, exhaust stroke, exhaust system, exhaust trail

Origin of exhaust

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

SYNONYMS FOR exhaust

1 tire, enervate, prostrate, debilitate.

2 waste, squander, dissipate.

4 void.

12 fumes, smoke, vapor.

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ANTONYMS FOR exhaust

1 strengthen, invigorate.

4 fill.

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Related forms

ex·haust·er, nounex·haust·i·ble, adjectiveex·haust·i·bil·i·ty, nounmul·ti·ex·haust, noun

non·ex·haust·ed, adjectivenon·ex·haust·i·ble, adjectivepre·ex·haust, verb (used with object)un·ex·haust·ed, adjectiveun·ex·haust·ed·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for exhaustible

The47 forces that have erected us from the worm, are they necessarily exhausted or exhaustible?
Woman and Womanhood|C. W. Saleeby
Yet, let it not be thought that I regard the mind of England as exhausted, or even as exhaustible.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 360, October 1845|Various
Conservation comprehends the substitution as far as possible of materials for those that are exhaustible.
Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress|Various
For by another paradox—this time not of art but of nature—the extraordinary is exhaustible and the ordinary is not.
The English Novel|George Saintsbury

The ground may be ever so rich in ingredients, but it is exhaustible.
Valere Aude|Louis Dechmann

British Dictionary definitions for exhaustible

exhaust

/ (ɪɡˈzɔːst) /

verb (mainly tr)

to drain the energy of; tire outto exhaust someone by constant questioning

to deprive of resources, etca nation exhausted by war

to deplete totally; expend; consumeto exhaust food supplies

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

to develop or discuss thoroughly so that no further interest remainsto exhaust a topic of conversation

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

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

to destroy the fertility of (soil) by excessive cultivation

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

noun

gases ejected from an engine as waste products

the expulsion of expanded gas or steam from an engine
(as modifier)exhaust stroke

the parts of an engine through which the exhausted gases or steam pass
(as modifier)exhaust valve; exhaust pipe

Derived Forms

exhausted, adjectiveexhauster, nounexhaustible, adjectiveexhaustibility, noun

exhausting, adjective

Word Origin for exhaust

C16: from Latin exhaustus made empty, from exhaurīre to draw out, from haurīre to draw, drain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for exhaustible (1 of 2)

exhaust

1530s, "to draw off or out, to use up completely," from Latin exhaustus, past participle of exhaurire "draw off, take away, use up," from ex- "off" (see ex-) + haurire "to draw up" (as water), from PIE *aus- "to draw water." Of resources, etc., from 1630s. Related: Exhausted; exhausting.

Word Origin and History for exhaustible (1 of 2)

exhaust

"waste gas," 1848, originally from steam engines, from exhaust (v.). In reference to internal combustion engines by 1896.

exhaust

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun Machinery.

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Nearby words

Origin of exhaust

Examples from the Web for exhaustible

British Dictionary definitions for exhaustible

exhaust

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for exhaust

Word Origin and History for exhaustible (1 of 2)

exhaust

Word Origin and History for exhaustible (1 of 2)

exhaust