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.

The team was ousted from the tournament in the first round.

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 of oust

• eject
• out
• banish
• dismiss
• chase
• expel
• evict

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

OpenAI's for-profit arm is also a public benefit corporation controlled by a nonprofit foundation whose directors must balance shareholder returns against a broader mission—a structure whose instability was laid bare when OpenAI's board fired and briefly ousted Sam Altman in 2023. —Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 2 June 2026

In November, California voters approved new district lines designed to weaken and potentially oust five current Republican House members. —Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 2 June 2026

Administration officials wary of Pulte’s tactics made a push to oust him in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported. —Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 2 June 2026

To do so, Weiss and her team ousted Owens’ successor, Tanya Simon, as well as the show’s executive editor, Draggan Mihailovich, along with correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 2 June 2026

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

Rhymes for oust

• doused
• faust
• joust

Kids Definition

oust

verb

ˈau̇st 

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