exert

verb

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ex·ert | \ ig-ˈzərt

exerted; exerting; exerts

Definition of exert

transitive verb

1a : to put forth (strength, effort, etc.) the force is exerted sideways

b : to put (oneself) into action or to tiring effort won't have to exert himself moving the table

2 : to bring to bear especially with sustained effort or lasting effect exerted a bad influence on his students

3 : employ, wield exerted her leadership abilities intelligently

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Examples of exert in a Sentence

He had to exert all of his strength to move the stone. He exerts a lot of influence on the other members of the committee. the force exerted by the machine

Recent Examples on the Web Because Europe doesn't have tech companies that can compete with Silicon Valley's big names or China's tech champions, the region's response is to try to exert influence through regulation, Eurasia Group's Peker said. — Julia Horowitz, CNN, "Europe is coming for Big Tech. Biden's victory won't change that," 12 Nov. 2020 The military concluded that the nonprofit’s co-founder, W. Shepherd Smith, had access to the lab and tried to exert influence. — USA Today, "How the CDC failed public health officials fighting the coronavirus," 11 Nov. 2020 At the same time, details emerged of how the president may seek to continue to exert influence over the Republican Party. — Rob Crilly, Washington Examiner, "Trump campaign plans more rallies as it digs in for long fight," 10 Nov. 2020 Instead, the new administration is expected to exert a calming influence. — David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, "Biden’s Win Means a Demotion for Netanyahu and Less Focus on Israel," 9 Nov. 2020 Another said Trump and his family were likely to exert their influence for years to come. — Laura Litvan, Bloomberg.com, "Trump’s Hold on GOP Means Few Are Disputing His Election Claims," 6 Nov. 2020 Texas Republicans have dominated Congress for the better part of the last two decades, using what’s become the country’s largest GOP state delegation – now 22 members strong – to exert outsize influence over policies, messaging and leadership posts. — Tom Benning, Dallas News, "If blue wave crashes on Lone Star State, Texas GOP’s longstanding congressional clout would suffer," 2 Nov. 2020 The intention was to encourage moderation, guaranteeing that a website that edits out hate speech and other abuse is not legally expected to exert editorial control over every single post. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, "The Internet Trump Built," 30 Oct. 2020 Voting disinformation from foreign and especially domestic actors, concurrently, has kept front and center the influence these internet companies exert over public discourse. — Justin Sherman, Wired, "The Senate’s Section 230 Circus Sent a Bad Global Signal," 29 Oct. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exert.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.