exodus

noun ex·o·dus \ ˈek-sə-dəs , ˈeg-zə- \

|Updated on: 19 Aug 2018

Examples: exodus in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Don't Leave Without the History of exodos

Definition of exodus

1 capitalized : the mainly narrative second book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture — see Bible Table

2 : a mass departure : emigration

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Examples of exodus in a Sentence

the mass exodus from the cities for the beaches and the mountains on most summer weekends

Recent Examples of exodus from the Web

In recent weeks, an exodus of trusted staff members left Pruitt increasingly isolated, and some Republican lawmakers wearied of defending him.

— washington post, BostonGlobe.com, "Pruitt steps down as EPA head after ethics, management scandals," 6 July 2018
Some of the most powerful organizations nationwide, including teachers unions, are bracing for an exodus of members and money.

— morning brief, The Seattle Times, "Neighborhood crime may not be as bad as some Seattleites fear and Amazon buys online pharmacy | Thursday Morning Brief, June 28," 28 June 2018
Many economists say Turkey must signal it is committed to prodding the lira, or risk being hit by an exodus of foreign investors.

— yeliz candemir, WSJ, "Turkish Currency Slide Poses a Political Challenge to Erdogan," 30 May 2018
Amid an exodus of mid-career designers from New York to Paris, Simons was a welcome addition to the American calendar.

— steff yotka, Vogue, "Raf Simons Is Moving His Men’s Show Back to Paris," 25 May 2018
Human finger bone points to an early exodus out of Africa Archaeologists and anthropologists have scoured the Arabian Desert for evidence that some of the earliest members of our species once traversed these formerly green lands.

— katie langin, Science | AAAS, "Top stories: the oldest human fossil in Arabia, snakes on Mercury, and clot-busting mosquito spit," 13 Apr. 2018
Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham will return to the network despite an exodus from advertisers following her comments about a victim of the Parkland, Florida high school shooting.

— leada gore, AL.com, "Laura Ingraham will return to Fox News, network says," 2 Apr. 2018
But less than two years later, a virulent outbreak in Venezuela, combined with a mass exodus from the South American country, is threatening that medical success story.

— jim wyss, miamiherald, "A measles outbreak in ailing Venezuela is threatening Colombia and Brazil | Miami Herald," 26 Mar. 2018
Weight Watchers, which was saddled with debt and struggling with a customer exodus, has mounted a comeback since Winfrey took a stake in the company and agreed to pitch the brand in 2015.

— craig giammona, Bloomberg.com, "Weight Watchers Takes on Blue Apron With Meal Kits," 8 Mar. 2018

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

Don't Leave Without the History of exodos

The Biblical book of Exodus describes the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, so it's no surprise that the word has come to refer more generally to any mass departure. The word itself was adopted into English (via Latin) from Greek Exodos, which literally means "the road out." The Greek word was formed by combining the prefix ex- and hodos, meaning "road" or "way." Other descendants of the prolific hodos in English include episode, method, odometer, and period. There are also several scientific words that can be traced back to hodos. Anode and cathode can refer, respectively, to the positive and negative electrodes of a diode, and hodoscope refers to an instrument for tracing the paths of ionizing particles.