oust

verb

ˈau̇st 

ousted; ousting; ousts

transitive verb

1

a

: to remove from or dispossess of property or position by legal action, by force, or by the compulsion of necessity

The rebels ousted the dictator from power.

b

: to take away (something, such as a right or authority) : bar, remove

The states do not like attempts by Congress to oust their jurisdiction.

2

: to take the place of : supplant

must be careful that quantity does not oust quality

—R. V. Williams

Synonyms

• banish
• boot (out)
• bounce
• cast out
• chase
• dismiss
• drum (out)
• eject
• expel
• extrude
• kick out
• out
• rout
• run off
• throw out
• turf (out) [chiefly British]
• turn out

Choose the Right Synonym for oust

eject, expel, oust, evict mean to drive or force out.

eject carries an especially strong implication of throwing or thrusting out from within as a physical action.

ejected an obnoxious patron from the bar

expel stresses a thrusting out or driving away especially permanently which need not be physical.

a student expelled from college

oust implies removal or dispossession by power of the law or by force or compulsion.

police ousted the squatters

evict chiefly applies to turning out of house and home.

evicted for nonpayment of rent

Examples of oust in a Sentence

The rebels ousted the dictator from power.

Large national banks are ousting local banks in many communities.

Recent Examples on the Web

Calexico resoundingly ousts its first transgender mayor and a council ally. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024

On his first day in the White House, Biden ousted the chief enforcer of federal labor laws as part of goal of being the most pro-union president in history. —USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024

Johnson, however, has faced threats from his far right flank to oust him from his role should be move forward on additional funding to Ukraine. —Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2024

Aid moves ahead, but threat to Johnson remains The rule does not raise the threshold to bring a motion to oust the speaker, which several members of the Republican conference had called for. —Deirdre Walsh, NPR, 18 Apr. 2024

Meanwhile, the threat to oust Johnson from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican of Georgia, gained steam this week. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 18 Apr. 2024

His retirement announcement comes as, once again, conservative hardliners are threatening to oust a Speaker, this time over his decision to allow a vote to send military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. —Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2024

They are enraged at his strategy for sending aid to Ukraine and every day appear to be edging closer to calling a vote to oust him from his post. —Jess Bidgood, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024

Before the war, his leadership in ousting Japanese and French colonizers — along with no small amount of savvy PR work — established him as the de facto moral figurehead for Vietnamese, both north and south. —Nick Hilden, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French oster, ouster to take off, remove, oust, from Late Latin obstare to ward off, from Latin, to stand in the way, from ob- in the way + stare to stand — more at ob-, stand

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

oust

verb

ˈau̇st 

: to force or drive out (as from office or from possession of something)