exclusive
Americanadjective
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not admitting of something else; incompatible.
mutually exclusive plans of action.
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omitting from consideration or account (often followed byof ).
a profit of ten percent, exclusive of taxes.
- Antonyms:
- inclusive
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limited to the object or objects designated.
exclusive attention to business.
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shutting out all others from a part or share.
an exclusive right to film the novel.
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to patronize only the most exclusive clothing designers.
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charging comparatively high prices; expensive.
exclusive shops.
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noting that in which no others have a share.
exclusive information.
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single or sole.
the exclusive means of communication between two places.
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disposed to resist the admission of outsiders to association, intimacy, etc..
an exclusive circle of intimate friends.
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admitting only members of a socially restricted or very carefully selected group.
an exclusive club.
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excluding or tending to exclude or prohibit, as from use or possession.
exclusive laws;
exclusive restrictions on use of the property.
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Grammar. (of the first person plural) not including the person or persons spoken to, as we in We'll see you later.
noun
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Journalism. a piece of news, or the reporting of a piece of news, obtained by a newspaper or other news organization, along with the privilege of using it first.
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an exclusive right or privilege.
to have an exclusive on providing fuel oil to the area.
adjective
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excluding all else; rejecting other considerations, possibilities, events, etc
an exclusive preoccupation with money
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belonging to a particular individual or group and to no other; not shared
exclusive rights
an exclusive story
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belonging to or catering for a privileged minority, esp a fashionable clique
an exclusive restaurant
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limited (to); found only (in)
this model is exclusive to Harrods
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single; unique; only
the exclusive means of transport on the island was the bicycle
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separate and incompatible
mutually exclusive principles
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(immediately postpositive) not including the numbers, dates, letters, etc, mentioned
1980–84 exclusive
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except (for); not taking account (of)
exclusive of bonus payments, you will earn this amount
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commerce (of a contract, agreement, etc) binding the parties to do business only with each other with respect to a class of goods or services
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logic (of a disjunction) true if only one rather than both of its component propositions is true Compare inclusive
noun
Usage
What does exclusive mean? Exclusive is most commonly used to describe things that are limited to certain people. Exclusive can be thought of as an adjective form of the verb exclude, which means to shut out or keep out—the opposite of include. It can be applied in many different contexts, but almost all of them have to do with there being a limit on something, especially on how many people have access to something. Exclusive can also be used as a noun referring to something that is available from only one place, especially a news story that is only being reported by a particular news organization or a product that is only being offered by one store. Example: The highly exclusive event was only for A-list celebrities, but they let Ryan Reynolds in for some reason.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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exclusivenessnoun
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exclusivitynoun
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nonexclusiveadjective
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preexclusiveadjective
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semiexclusiveadjective
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ultraexclusiveadjective
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unexclusiveadjective
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exclusivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of exclusive
First recorded in 1400–50; 1900–05 exclusive for def. 13; (adjective) late Middle English from Medieval Latin exclūsīvus; see exclusion, -ive
Explanation
Exclusive means with limited access. The only way you might get reservations at one of the most exclusive restaurants in Los Angeles is to become friends with the maitre d', or become famous. By its nature, something that is exclusive leaves people out, or excludes them. You would think this was a bad thing, since excluding people is not very nice, but by being exclusive, things like clubs, restaurants, and resorts become all the more desirable. Exclusive can also mean sole or only: The company became the exclusive soda vendor at the new stadium. The local newspaper got an exclusive interview and broke the news.
Vocabulary lists containing exclusive
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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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.
See Examples For:
The venture will give KOC exclusive use and operational rights for a 20.5-year period, in exchange for a volume-based tariff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
That milestone was also recently hit by Samsung Electronics and US chipmaker Micron -- with AI thrusting the three memory chip firms into a previously exclusive club of around a dozen companies, nearly all American.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, Andy Burnham explicitly dismissed the idea of an early general election, saying "I'm going to rule it out... I don't think people want it."
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
As Kent walked around Otesaga Resort, he could feel the warmth and welcome from the most exclusive fraternity in baseball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
They stood a fair chance—Travis’s father considered the kitchen to be his mother’s exclusive domain.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
“There haven’t been as many must have Switch 2 exclusives as you’d hope right now, and so you’re bouncing that in your head against the potential for Nintendo to have to increase prices,” he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 28, 2026
"The reputation we've built means that artists who wouldn't have seen the North West as a market where they could play one-off shows are now coming and bringing those exclusives to us."
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
Mexicans have plenty of spiritual animalistic icons and regional exclusives that make sense, from the endangered axolotl salamander to Xoloitzcuintle, a hairless dog.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
Although YouTube did not get to absorb Peacock exclusives into its lineup, it managed to avert further complaints from subscribers just in time for early-October appointment viewings, including football, basketball, and SNL.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2025
Not a few of this party were deluded into a belief, that all studious and quiet men were slow, all men of proper self-respect exclusives, and all men of courtesy and good-breeding spoonies.
From A Collection of College Words and Customs by Hall, Benjamin Homer
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.
