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 act or an instance of going out

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Exodus ² 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 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

But Walsh doesn’t see it as a widespread issue and calls the exodus more a sign of some investors wanting liquidity.

From Barron's

Last year it was estimated RedNote had a user base of around 300m, including an exodus of people from TikTok, which was under threat of a ban in the US at the time.

From BBC

I am sure I am not alone in seeking clarity around the issue of the exodus of local talent to Missouri, Oregon State, Texas, North Carolina, Nevada, and even more confounding, USC.

From Los Angeles Times

Numbers were once even greater - after a devastating famine in the mid-1990s triggered what rights groups described as a silent exodus over a more porous border with China.

From BBC

They threatened an exodus after she issued “a little mission statement” spelling out her priorities.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• departure
• evacuation
• flight
• migration
• withdrawal