exodus

American  

[ek-suh-duhs] / ˈɛk sə dəs /

noun

1. a going out; a departure or emigration, usually of a large number of people.

   the summer exodus to the country and shore.

2. the Exodus, the departure of the Israelites from Egypt under Moses.

3. (initial capital letter) the second book of the Bible, containing an account of the Exodus. Ex.

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Exodus ¹ British  

/ ˈɛksədəs /

noun

1. the departure of the Israelites from Egypt led by Moses

2. the second book of the Old Testament, recounting the events connected with this and the divine visitation of Moses at Mount Sinai

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exodus ² British  

/ ˈɛksədəs /

noun

1. the act or an instance of going out

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Exodus Cultural  

1. The second book of the Old Testament; it tells of the departure of the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt (see also Egypt), made possible by the ten plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. Moses led them, and their destination was the Promised Land. God guided them by sending a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to show them the way they should go. God also fed them with manna and gave them water out of a solid rock. Because of their frequent complaining and failure to trust him, however, God made them stay in the desert for forty years before entering the Promised Land. God gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Mosaic law on Mount Sinai during the Exodus. Exodus is a Greek word meaning “departure.”

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Etymology

Origin of exodus

First recorded before 1000; from Late Latin, the name of the second book of the Bible, from Greek éxodos “a going out, marching out,” equivalent to ex- “out of” + (h)odós “way”; ex- ³

Example Sentences

An exodus of residents would slash local school enrollment and the customer base for area businesses.

From The Wall Street Journal

The previous few years had been marked by racial tensions, civil unrest, the collapse of both the aerospace industry and the real estate market, an exodus of corporations and a massive earthquake.

From Los Angeles Times

Salford Red Devils were wound up on 3 December after a turbulent year, with a mass player exodus, late wage payments, heavy defeats and ultimately the loss of their Super League status for 2026.

From BBC

California’s population growing seemed to be a permanent feature until the pandemic, when the California exodus became the state’s first years of population decline, ever.

From Los Angeles Times

That fact alone makes this polling shift significant, and if the exodus becomes big enough to make it easier for others to exit, it could start to compound.

From Salon

Related Words

• departure
• evacuation
• flight
• migration
• withdrawal