# exclusive

Pronunciation: say "ik-SKLOO-siv" /ɪkˈsklu.sɪv/

## Adjective

1. Shutting out or leaving out whatever does not meet certain conditions, so that only some people or things are included or allowed in.
   - Simple: Keeping out people or things that do not meet certain rules.
   - _The early booking discount is exclusive to members who renewed before March._
   - _Their membership is exclusive, admitting only those who pass a strict test._
2. Of a club, service, or product: high in quality or status and open only to a select few, with the suggestion that others are deliberately kept out.
   - Simple: High in quality or status and available only to a chosen few, with others deliberately kept out.
   - _The label markets an exclusive perfume aimed at wealthy buyers._
   - _Their gym is exclusive, accepting only members who can pay the steep fee._
4. Complete and undivided; given fully to one person or thing and not shared with others.
   - Simple: Given fully to one thing, and not shared with anything else.
   - _For six months the engineers gave the bridge their exclusive attention._
   - _The coach expects his players' exclusive focus during practice._
7. Of two people, romantically or sexually involved only with each other, not seeing others.
   - Simple: Dating only each other and no one else.
   - _After a long talk, the couple agreed to be exclusive._
   - _She asked whether they were exclusive or still casually dating others._
5. Held or used by a single person or group alone, with no part split off or shared with anyone else.
   - Simple: Only for one person or group, and not shared with anyone else.
   - _The network paid billions for exclusive rights to broadcast the games._
   - _For the length of the lease, the tenant has exclusive possession of the property._
6. Used with of to mean leaving out the thing named, so that it is not counted or included.
   - Simple: Not counting or including something. You use it with of, as in 'exclusive of tax'.
   - _All prices on the menu are listed exclusive of sales tax and gratuity._
   - _The museum holds about 4,000 paintings, exclusive of drawings and prints._

## Noun

3. A piece of news or a product that one outlet alone is given or manages to obtain.
   - Simple: A news story or item that only one newspaper, channel, or store has.
   - _The network paid heavily for an exclusive with the retiring senator._
   - _Rival outlets scrambled after the tabloid published its exclusive._

## Noun

8. A group member who shuts other people out of their social circle. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A person in a group who keeps other people out.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Describing a first-person plural pronoun ('we') that excludes the person being addressed.
- (noun) A word or phrase, such as 'only,' 'solely,' or 'simply,' that restricts or limits what is being said.

## Origin

It goes back to Latin exclūsīvus. Behind that is excludere ("to shut out, exclude"), a verb that joins ex- ("out") to a variant form of claudere ("to close, shut").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/exclusive (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).