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:
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 court said Finra can’t unilaterally expel or ban a firm from trading stocks without government review.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 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
By helping neurons expel excess toxic Tau, Arc appears to allow damaged cells to survive longer.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026
“And that you would have gotten expelled, but his parents begged the school not to expel you . . “What?!”
From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio
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
When a black hole jet heats that gas or expels it entirely, the galaxy's ability to produce new stars can drop sharply.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 19, 2026
After a series of mysterious analog rumblings, the booth expels a tiny strip of prints.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2025
Serena Joy, who has been holding her breath, expels it.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
He was expelled from Prairie View A&M University in 1971 after protesting against the expulsion of the editor of the student newspaper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
It said it had "immediately removed him from the ranks of the security team and expelled him from the National Rally".
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
A common assumption has been that these compounds are largely expelled from the body without causing major metabolic effects.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
The former New York lawmaker, who was expelled from Congress in 2023, agreed in July to pay more than $35,000 to settle claims by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Hagrid wasn’t a fully qualified wizard; he had been expelled from Hogwarts in his third year for a crime he had not committed.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
The U.S. isn’t expelling Brazil’s ambassador, the State Department official said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 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
Over the weekend, several House lawmakers suggested expelling both Swalwell and Gonzales, who had already dropped his re-election bid after admitting having an affair with an aide.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
India denied the allegations, which chilled ties between the two nations, and saw each expelling a string of diplomats in 2024.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
In 1774 the Shawnee responded to these encroachments by raiding squatter settlements and expelling land surveyors.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
