DictionaryAI

exit

EG-zit/ˈɛɡzət/EK-sit/ˈɛksɪt/

Pluralexits

Verbexits, exiting, exited

10 meanings of exit

Practice

  1. 1
    way out (door)nouncountable
    An opening or passage that lets a person move from inside a building, room, or vehicle to the outside.

    The fire exit was blocked by stacked chairs.

    Passengers should locate the nearest exit before takeoff.

    UsageFixed compounds: fire exit and emergency exit. The opposite is entrance, and way out is the plain everyday phrase.

    Similardoor, doorway, egress

    Oppositeentrance, entry, entryway, ingress

  2. 2
    verbfigurativelytransitive
    To go out of or leave a place, vehicle or situation; to depart.

    The company exited the European market after heavy losses.

    Investors who exit a failing venture early often save money.

    UsageTakes the place directly as its object: exit the building, exit a market. Leave is the plainer everyday word.

    Similarleave, quit

    Oppositeenter, join

    Note

    It has spread well beyond doorways into business and social-policy writing. Owners exit their businesses, and the Census Bureau brief Poverty's Revolving Door (1995) counts people who exited poverty.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The Census Bureau published a statistical brief titled Poverty's Revolving Door in 1995. www2.census.gov
    • The brief reports statistics on people who exited poverty and uses that wording. www2.census.gov
  3. 3
    act of leavingnouncountable
    An act of going out or leaving a place or situation, including an actor's departure from the stage.

    Her sudden exit surprised everyone at the meeting.

    He made a quiet exit before the speeches began.

    UsageSet phrases: make an exit, make a quick exit, an early exit from a contest or event.

    Similardeparture

    Oppositeentrance, entry, arrival

    Note

    Behind the noun stands Latin exitus, which covered a wide spread of meaning: a going out, the way out, a conclusion, death, even income. English kept several of these, so this departure sits beside the doorway and the euphemism for death.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  4. 4
    highway rampnouncountable
    A minor road or ramp used to leave a major road such as a highway or expressway.

    Drivers heading downtown should take the third exit.

    The exit was closed for repairs, forcing a long detour.

    UsageDrivers take or miss an exit, often named by number or street: take exit 12, the Constitution Ave exit.

    Similarturnoff, off-ramp, ramp, junction

    Oppositeentrance, on-ramp

    Note

    On the road the word names a piece of infrastructure, and it pairs with entrance just as a doorway does. Highway law speaks of the entrances and exits that a department designates. The ramp or slip road is the physical thing, and exit is what drivers call it.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Highway law refers to entrances and exits designated by a department. legis.la.gov
  5. 5
    quit (app)verbtransitive or intransitive
    To end or close a running program or subroutine.

    You can exit the application from the file menu.

    The script exits automatically once the task finishes.

    UsageYou exit a program, and a program or script exits when it stops; quit and close are common alternatives.

    Similarquit, close, terminate, leave

    Oppositelaunch, open, start (entry)

    Note

    The 1990 second edition of Guy Steele's Common Lisp: The Language describes exiting from a complex process "in a non-local, dynamically scoped manner." That usage shows the word covering any routine or block, not just a whole program.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Guy Steele wrote Common Lisp: The Language, whose second edition was published in 1990. cs.cmu.edu
    • The book describes exiting from a complex process using the exact quoted wording. faculty.cc.gatech.edu
  6. 6
    leave the stageverbintransitive
    In the theater, to leave the stage or a scene. It is also used as a stage direction, as in 'Exit Banquo'.

    Lead performers exit before the final blackout.

    The chorus exits through a hidden door upstage.

    UsageWhen describing a play, use normal verb endings: she exits stage left. Stage directions can use Exit Banquo or He exits.

    Similarleave, depart

    Oppositeenter

  7. 7
    nouncountablebusiness
    The event by which founders or investors cash out of a company, whether through its sale, the sale of a stake, or a stock market listing.

    The venture fund made ten times its money on the exit when the startup went public.

    Eight years after backing the startup, its early investors finally got their exit when a larger rival bought it.

    Note

    Venture capital and startup jargon, where nearly every investment is made with an exit in mind. The usual routes are an acquisition, a stock market listing, or a sale of shares to a later investor, and an exit strategy is the plan for reaching one. Investors use the verb the same way: a fund that has exited a company has sold out of it, not walked out the door.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Venture capital investments are made with an eventual exit in mind. angellist.com

Less common meanings

  1. 8
    deathnouneuphemisticfigurativelycountable
    A polite or literary way of referring to death; departure from life.

    His exit at ninety left a void in the family.

    The novel ends with the hero's noble exit on the battlefield.

    UsageTypical phrases: final exit, a peaceful exit, make one's exit.

    Similardeath, demise, decease, expiration

    Note

    Death framed as a leaving is older than English. The Latin source of the departure noun already carried a figurative sense of death. Richard Steele wrote gravely in 1711 of "the exits of great and excellent men." The World of 1756 turns the euphemism to irony, offering a beheading machine to those who choose that "noble and honourable exit."

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

    • The metaphor of death as departure predates English: Latin exitus meant both departure and death. en.wiktionary.org
    • The departure noun derives from Latin exitus, which already had a figurative death sense. en.wiktionary.org
    • Richard Steele wrote the passage in The Spectator, no. 133. gutenberg.org
    • The quotation about the exits of great and excellent men appeared in 1711. gutenberg.org
    • The World passage was originally published in 1756. en.wiktionary.org
    • The World ironically proposes a beheading machine and calls the resulting death a noble and honourable exit. en.wiktionary.org
  2. 9
    dieverbeuphemisticintransitive
    To pass away; to come to the end of one's life.

    UsageIt suits wry or mournful writing. For a direct statement, use die.

    Similardie, depart, pass, perish, expire

  3. 10
    verb
    In a card game such as bridge, to give up the lead.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of exit apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English exit, from Latin exitus ('departure, way out; figuratively conclusion or death'), from exeo ('to depart, go out'), which combines ex- ('out, away') and eo ('to go'). It is related to Italian esito, Portuguese êxito, and Spanish éxito. The verb is derived from the noun.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

  • English exit comes from Middle English exit, from Latin exitus. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin exitus means departure or way out, and figuratively conclusion or death. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin exitus derives from exeo, meaning to depart or go out. en.wiktionary.org
  • Exeo combines ex-, meaning out or away, and eo, meaning to go. en.wiktionary.org
  • Exit is etymologically related to Italian esito, Portuguese êxito, and Spanish éxito. en.wiktionary.org
  • The ordinary English verb exit derives from the noun. en.wiktionary.org