exit

[eg-zit, ek-sit]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exit ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a way or passage out: Please leave the theater by the nearest exit.

any of the marked ramps or spurs providing egress from a highway: Take the second exit after the bridge for the downtown shopping district.

a going out or away; departure: to make one's exit.

a departure of an actor from the stage as part of the action of a play.

Also called exit card. Bridge. a card that enables a player to relinquish the lead when having it is a disadvantage.

verb (used without object)

to go out; leave.

Bridge. to play an exit card.

verb (used with object)

to leave; depart from: Sign out before you exit the building.

Origin of exit

1580–90; partly < Latin exitus act or means of going out, equivalent to exi-, variant stem of exīre to go out (ex- ex-¹ + īre to go) + -tus suffix of v. action; partly noun, v. use of exit²

Can be confusedexcited exited

exit

[eg-zit, ek-sit]

verb (used without object)

(he or she) goes offstage (used as a stage direction, often preceding the name of the character): Exit Falstaff.

Origin of exit

1530–40; < Latin ex(i)it literally, (he) goes out, 3rd singular present of exīre; see exit¹

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

Related Words for exiting

blow, quit, depart, retire, withdraw, get, move, split, go, issue, retreat, git

Examples from the Web for exiting

Contemporary Examples of exiting

Exiting the hotel ballroom, philanthropist Tom Steyer also seemed to give Clinton a pass for not mentioning the pipeline project.
Hillary Praises Fracking, Stays Silent on Keystone
David Freedlander
December 2, 2014
He had then blacked out as a bullet passed within an inch of his heart, exiting his chest.
The First Modern School Shooter Feels Responsible for the Rest
Michael Daly
May 30, 2014
Five years after exiting the adult industry, the iconic Jenna Jameson is making a triumphant return.
Jenna Jameson Breaks Her Vow
Aurora Snow
November 18, 2013
The boy, Deonta Howard, was the most seriously wounded, with a bullet entering his ear and exiting his cheek.
Chicago’s Bloody Aftermath: ‘This Is Not Something We Can Say Is OK’
Michael Daly
September 21, 2013
With Napolitano exiting unexpectedly, Obama must find someone else capable of riding herd over the massive, unruly agency.
The Short List of Candidates to Replace Janet Napolitano at DHS
Daniel Klaidman
July 12, 2013

Historical Examples of exiting

That is to say, could it have been caused by an exiting bullet?
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
If there is tresure on that iland I should think you could look for it and it would be exiting.
Us and the Bottleman
Edith Ballinger Price
Exiting it, we turned down a short, closed hallway that opened into the concealed area behind the podium that I spoke of earlier.
The Revolutions of Time
Jonathan Dunn
Exiting from stage into the side room, she became immediately the center of a buzzing throng of highly excited girls.
Marjorie Dean High School Senior
Pauline Lester

British Dictionary definitions for exiting

exit

noun

a way out; door or gate by which people may leave

the act or an instance of going out; departure

the act of leaving or right to leave a particular place
(as modifier)an exit visa

departure from life; death

theatre the act of going offstage

(in Britain) a point at which vehicles may leave or join a motorway

bridge

the act of losing the lead deliberately
a card enabling one to do this

verb (intr)

to go away or out; depart; leave

theatre to go offstage: used as a stage directionexit Hamlet

bridge to lose the lead deliberately

(sometimes tr) computing to leave (a computer program or system)

Word Origin for exit

C17: from Latin exitus a departure, from exīre to go out, from ex- 1 + īre to go

Exit

noun

(in Britain) a society that seeks to promote the legitimization of voluntary euthanasia

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 exiting

exit

1530s, from Latin exit "he or she goes out," third person singular present indicative of exire "go out," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + ire "to go" (see ion).

Also from Latin exitus "a leaving, a going out," noun of action from exire. Originally in English a Latin stage direction (late 15c.); sense of "door for leaving" is 1786. Meaning "departure" (originally from the stage) is from 1580s. The verb is c.1600, from the noun; it ought to be left to stage directions and the clunky jargon of police reports.

Those who neither know Latin nor read plays are apt to forget or not know that this is a singular verb with plural exeunt. [Fowler]

Related: Exited; exiting.