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.
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to cut off from membership or relations.
to expel a student from a college.
- Synonyms:
- excommunicate, exile, dismiss, oust
verb
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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
- expellable adjective
- expellee noun
- expeller noun
- reexpel verb (used with object)
- unexpellable adjective
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”
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.
Before initiating military action to expel Iraqi invaders from Kuwait, President George H.W.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026
Here’s another example: The government wanted to expel a Guatemalan refugee to Mexico.
From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026
The woman cried and begged guards for days after to help her get pills to expel the fetuses — help that did not come before Pineda left the facility.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025
France is unable to expel any Algerians back home due to the current crisis -- the authorities there generally refuse to take them back.
From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025
“Headmistresses are always so cooperative. They’d rather expel a bad apple or two than risk their school getting into the newspapers for the wrong reasons. Who can blame them?”
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
