expel
Americanverb (used with object)
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to drive or force out or away; discharge or eject.
to expel air from the lungs; to expel an invader from a country.
-
to cut off from membership or relations.
to expel a student from a college.
- Synonyms:
- excommunicate, exile, dismiss, oust
verb
-
to eject or drive out with force
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to deprive of participation in or membership of a school, club, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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expelsimple
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expelssimple
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have expelledperfect
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has expelledperfect
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am expellingprogressive
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are expellingprogressive
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is expellingprogressive
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have been expellingperfect progressive
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has been expellingperfect progressive
Past
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expelledsimple
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had expelledperfect
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was expellingprogressive
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were expellingprogressive
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had been expellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of expel
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English expellen, from Latin expellere “to drive out, drive away,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + pellere “to push, drive”
Explanation
Getting expelled from a school is a step beyond suspension. It means that you are asked to leave and never come back. In other words, you have been kicked out. More benignly, expel can mean discharge: if you're having a water-fountain spitting-fight, you are hoping to expel water from your mouth in the direction of your opponent before they can get you. But don't do this; you won't get expelled from school, but the germs in your body will be expelled all over your friends.
Vocabulary lists containing expel
Power Prefix: ex-
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 5
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Representatives from two local tribes draw a parallel between the gather and past efforts to expel their people from their ancestral lands, and say the horses are intertwined with their culture.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
By helping neurons expel excess toxic Tau, Arc appears to allow damaged cells to survive longer.
From Science Daily • Jun. 30, 2026
The misoprostol-only protocol has some downsides: It can be a bit more unpredictable, since it can take longer for a body to expel a pregnancy if it’s not prepped with mifepristone.
From Slate • May 18, 2026
In April 1944, when soldiers pounded on the door late at night to expel her family from their home, Edith put on her favorite dress—blue silk, with a matching suede belt.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Eventually the muscles expel heat faster than it can be replaced.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
