exercises

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of exercise.

   The workbook closes each chapter with practice exercises and review questions.

   The troops carried out joint training exercises along the coast last week.

   Note

   The ordinary plural, used with the countable meanings of the noun: drills that hone a skill, or separate workout routines. When exercise means physical activity in general, it is uncountable (exercise is good for you), so the plural points to individual, countable tasks. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb, and only the sentence tells them apart: she does her exercises, but she exercises daily.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of exercise.

   He exercises at the gym three times a week to stay in shape.

   The board exercises authority over all major spending decisions.

   Note

   A verb form that works in two constructions. Without an object it means working out: he exercises every morning. With an object it means putting a power or right to use: the board exercises authority, a buyer exercises an option. A third, transitive use means occupying or troubling someone's mind, as in the question that exercises him most.

3. 3
   noun

   A ceremony or organized assembly, such as one marking a graduation or a formal opening.

   The graduation exercises lasted nearly two hours in the summer heat.

   Opening exercises began with a hymn and a brief address from the principal.

   Similarceremonies, proceedings, rites, observances

   Note

   A plural-only use that names an occasion rather than an activity. It usually follows a word naming the event, as in opening exercises or graduation exercises, and it covers the whole program, from the hymn to the closing address. Keep it apart from the ordinary plural: graduation exercises are a ceremony you attend, not drills you practice.

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