excrete
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to discharge (waste matter, such as urine, sweat, carbon dioxide, or faeces) from the body through the kidneys, skin, lungs, bowels, etc
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(of plants) to eliminate (waste matter, such as carbon dioxide and salts) through the leaves, roots, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have excretedperfect
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has excretedperfect 3rd person singular
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are excretingprogressive
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have been excretingperfect progressive
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excretessingular 3rd person
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excretingparticiple
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am excretingprogressive 1st person singular
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is excretingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been excretingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had excretedperfect
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had been excretingperfect progressive
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were excretingprogressive plural
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excretedparticiple
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was excretingprogressive singular
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excretedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of excrete
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin excrētus “sifted out,” past participle of excernere “to sift out, separate,” from ex- ex- 1 + cernere “to decide, separate, sift”
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.
Your body also produces about 700 milligrams of sulfites daily as you metabolize the protein in your food and excrete it as sulfate.
From Salon • Dec. 16, 2024
He’s heard that by exposing it to the perfect cheeseball pop song — upbeat, sincere — it will excrete a natural hallucinogenic: a profitable slime.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2024
A handful of labs are studying bats from other genera, and initial findings suggest they have varying abilities to excrete and transmit the pandemic virus.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 4, 2023
When dogs excrete resistant bacteria into the environment and home, there is the potential for these bacteria to be passed on to their owners and other people.
From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2023
I wanted to reach out for him, to put my hand on his shoulder, to let him excrete stress hormones or scream or do whatever he needed to do.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
