exercise

Pluralexercises

Formsexercises, exercising, exercised

1. 1
   physical activitynouncountable or uncountable

   Exertion of the body, or sometimes of the mind, undertaken to build strength and keep fit.

   Doctors recommend at least thirty minutes of exercise most days.

   She fits some exercise into her busy schedule by cycling to work.

   UsageYou get exercise (activity in general), but you do your exercises (set routines like push-ups).

   Similaractivity, training, exertion, workout

   Oppositeinactivity, rest

2. 2
   to use powerverbtransitive

   To make use of a right, option, or power, or to show a quality such as caution or restraint; to put it into practice.

   Shareholders exercised their right to block the merger.

   You should exercise caution when signing any contract.

   UsageUsually with a right, an option, a power or a quality: exercise your right to vote, exercise caution.

   Similaruse, employ, exert, apply, invoke

   Oppositewaive, forgo

   Note

   In contracts, a tenant exercises an option to renew. The King James Bible of 1611 used it more widely, for practices of any kind, as in "exercised robbery." Modern English keeps it mostly to what one is entitled or advised to use, and the noun for this is the exercise of rights.

3. 3
   practice tasknouncountable

   A task, drill, or problem done as practice to build or sharpen a particular skill or ability.

   The textbook ends each chapter with practice exercises.

   She designed an exercise to build the team's trust.

   UsageUsually named by the skill it trains: a writing exercise, a trust exercise, math exercises.

   Similardrill, task, activity, assignment, problem

   Note

   Spenser's "knightly exercize" in The Faerie Queene (1590) shows it once meant martial training, and Locke in 1693 could speak of "an exercise of the eyes and memory."

4. 4
   verbintransitive

   To do physical activity for the sake of health or training.

   Many people exercise to relieve stress as much as to lose weight.

   He exercises outdoors whenever the weather allows.

   UsageUsually with no object: people exercise at the gym or every day; to exercise horses means to train them.

   Similartrain

   Oppositerest

5. 5
   nouncountable

   An undertaking aimed at a particular purpose, frequently assessed by the results it produces.

   Critics dismissed the senator's visit as a public relations exercise with little real substance.

   Without fresh data, the whole forecasting exercise was bound to fail.

   UsageOften a public relations exercise or an exercise in futility; calling something merely an exercise can sound dismissive.

   Similareffort, undertaking, operation, project

6. 6
   nouncountable

   An organized training operation in which military forces or emergency services rehearse their response to real events.

   Warships from six countries joined the naval exercises off the coast.

   The hospital staged a disaster exercise, with volunteers playing injured passengers.

   UsageOften plural: military exercises, naval exercises; forces hold or take part in an exercise.

   Similardrill, maneuver, rehearsal

7. 7
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The act of using a power, right, or ability, or of carrying out an office or duty.

   The exercise of authority requires both wisdom and restraint.

   Democracy depends on the regular exercise of voting rights.

   UsageUsually the exercise of a right, a power or authority.

   Note

   Thomas Jefferson's first annual message of 1801 speaks of the "exercise of this important function confided by the Constitution to the Legislature." Phrases like free exercise belong to law and politics, and the matching verb is to exercise a right.

8. 8
   verbtransitive

   To put a person, an animal, or a part of the body or mind through activity or practice so that it becomes stronger, fitter, or more skilled.

   Reading widely exercises the imagination.

   The stable hands exercise the racehorses on the beach each morning before the heat sets in.

   Similartrain, drill, work, develop, stretch

Showing meanings only. Show all 11