expel
Americanverb (used with object)
-
expels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
expelled,
past participle, past
-
expelling
present participle
-
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
-
to deprive of participation in or membership of a school, club, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
expelleenoun
-
expellernoun
-
reexpelverb (used with object)
-
expellableadjective
-
unexpellableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
expelsimple
-
expelssimple
-
have expelledperfect
-
has expelledperfect
-
am expellingprogressive
-
are expellingprogressive
-
is expellingprogressive
-
have been expellingperfect progressive
-
has been expellingperfect progressive
Past
-
expelledsimple
-
had expelledperfect
-
was expellingprogressive
-
were expellingprogressive
-
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-
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 5
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Unit 1: Telling Details
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Under a longstanding arrangement with Morocco, Spain can immediately expel people who enter its exclaves illegally, a practice known in Spanish as devoluciones en caliente, or “hot returns.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
The ruling follows France's decision last week to expel Xenia Fedorova and freeze her assets, a move she denounced as "censorship".
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
"The way the fridges work is to cool everything down and expel the hot air," which normally works well in the ambient air in the UK.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
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
He did warn me, however, that he could not allow his students to act irresponsibly, and he said that if I insisted on resigning, he would be compelled to expel me from Fort Hare.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
The measure bars or expels foreigners deemed to have "spread or incited hate messages" against the country or its people.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Desire expels despair, however, when Marty meets his brother’s new bride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026
After a series of mysterious analog rumblings, the booth expels a tiny strip of prints.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2025
Losing the Conservative whip essentially expels Mr Anderson from his party in Parliament.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2024
Serena Joy, who has been holding her breath, expels it.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Several lawmakers either quit or were expelled, including Mr. Rustad and Ms. Findlay’s former leadership rival, Peter Milobar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Allowed by another recent reform, these would serve either as the final destination or as transfer centres for those expelled.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
The IRA said three members were expelled from the organisation.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Some matter can instead be expelled into space through powerful jets and other outflows.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Imagine that 30,000 years ago one tribe defeated its neighbour and expelled it from coveted foraging grounds.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Other options include new sanctions, expelling Russian diplomats or closing more of its embassies and consulates in Europe, and intercepting and boarding more vessels of Russia’s shadow fleet, officials said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Their observations show that even when a black hole appears faint, it may still be actively expelling large amounts of matter rather than simply swallowing everything nearby.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
She has proposed fighting crime by expelling undocumented people, setting up courts with anonymous judges and making prisoners work for their food.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
If VAR had been available, Scottish referee Hugh Dallas could have corrected the missed call, awarding a penalty and giving Frings a red card, expelling him for the final 40 minutes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
Ancient sources talk about his perishing at sea for his impiety, or alternatively, say that the brotherhood banished him and constructed a tomb for him, expelling him from the world of human beings.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
