expel

play

verb ex·pel \ik-ˈspel\

Definition of expel

expelled

;

expelling

transitive verb
1 : to force out : eject expelled the smoke from her lungs
2 : to force to leave (a place, an organization, etc.) by official action : take away rights or privileges of membership was expelled from college

expellable

play \ik-ˈspe-lə-bəl\ adjective

See expel defined for English-language learners

See expel defined for kids

Examples of expel in a Sentence

The club may expel members who do not follow the rules.
She was expelled from school for bad behavior.
expel air from the lungs

Recent Examples of expel from the Web

Jones, who spent a decade as a Baylor regent, including two years as board chairman, suggested to the Baylor administrator that one of the women be expelled.

— matthew watkins and jim malewitz, star-telegram.com, "As Baylor regent, lobbyist called drinking female students ‘perverted little tarts’", 2 July 2017
In that report, Democratic Chairman Bill Hollander and Vice Chairwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton called for Johnson to be publicly condemned and expelled from the 17-member majority caucus.

— tessa weinberg and phillip m. bailey, The Courier-Journal, "Dan Johnson angry about leaks. At least that's what a leaked email tells us", 26 June 2017
Bleaching occurs when overly warm water leads corals to expel symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae.

— dennis normile, Science | AAAS, "Almost all of the 29 coral reefs on U.N. World Heritage list damaged by bleaching", 26 June 2017
A 2002 law allows pregnant girls to be expelled from Tanzanian schools.

— claire zillman, Fortune, "The World’s Most Powerful Women: June 26", 25 June 2017
In a report obtained exclusively by the Courier-Journal, Democratic Chairman Bill Hollander and Vice Chairwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton recommend Johnson be publicly condemned and expelled from caucus.

— phillip m. bailey, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville Councilman Dan Johnson's sexual harassment allegations: A timeline", 23 June 2017
A failed attempt to expel the Chinese caused the Dalai Lama, then 23, to flee Tibet in 1959.

— gary warth, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Dalai Lama gives UCSD students hope, challenges in commencement talk", 17 June 2017
A month before freshman year was over, I was summoned to the discipline office and expelled.

— edgar gomez, Longreads, "Pulse Nightclub Was My Home", 13 June 2017
And the social-media team behind Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the founder of Open Russia, reported that a number of schools had threatened to expel students who attended the protests.

— claire landsbaum, The Cut, "Teenage Girls Are Taking on Putin in Anti-Kremlin Protests", 12 June 2017

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

Did You Know?

To expel is to drive out, and its usual noun is expulsion. Expel is similar to eject, but expel suggests pushing out while eject suggests throwing out. Also, ejecting may only be temporary: the player ejected from a game may be back tomorrow, but the student expelled from school is probably out forever.

Origin and Etymology of expel

Middle English expellen, from Latin expellere, from ex- + pellere to drive — more at felt

NEW!

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of expel

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

EXPEL Defined for English Language Learners

expel

play

verb

Definition of expel for English Language Learners

: to officially force (someone) to leave a place or organization
: to push or force (something) out

EXPEL Defined for Kids

expel

play

verb ex·pel \ik-ˈspel\

Definition of expel for Students

expelled

;

expelling

1 : to force to leave He was expelled from school.
2 : to force out expel air from lungs

Word Root of expel

The Latin word pellere, meaning “to cause to move” or “to drive,” gives us the root pel. Words from the Latin pellere have something to do with driving or causing something to move. To propel is to drive forward. To compel is to drive someone to do something. To expel is to drive out. To repel is to drive back or away.