ouster
Americannoun
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expulsion or removal from a place or position occupied.
The opposition called for the ouster of the cabinet minister.
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Law.
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an ejection or eviction; dispossession.
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a wrongful exclusion from real property.
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noun
Etymology
Origin of ouster
1525–35; < Anglo-French, noun use of infinitive See oust
Explanation
Use the noun ouster to talk about the process of forcing someone out of a position. If your city's mayor is pressured to leave office, you can describe it as her ouster. When someone is dismissed or strongly influenced to abandon a position or quit a job, it's an ouster. A politician is often vulnerable to an ouster, when others are vying for her position, but your boss at work could also be subject to an ouster if his managers conspired to eliminate his job and force him out. Ouster once meant "kick out of one's house or property," from the Old French word oster, "take away, evict, or dispel."
Vocabulary lists containing ouster
This Week in Words: August 28 - September 1
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This Week In Words: April 5–11, 2020
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Donald Trump Foreign Policy Address
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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.
The agreement is the latest sign that the interim leader - who was a fierce critic of the US before Maduro's ouster - is opening up Venezuela's economy to US investors and companies.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
The ouster of Feldstein Soto would be nearly unprecedented.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Manifold has hired law firm Mishcon de Reya—veterans of high-stakes employment battles—to advise him regarding his ouster.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Its plunging market share led to the ouster of CEO Carlos Tavares in 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
Though the sentence may be beyond salvation, passivizing the relative clause would be a place to start: the former United Nations diplomat who has been tapped by protesters demanding Mr. Morsi’s ouster.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
