# reject

Pronunciation: say "ri-JEKT" /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɛkt/

## Verb

1. To refuse to accept something that is offered, proposed, or claimed.
   - Simple: To say no to something and refuse to accept it.
   - _Editors often reject manuscripts that fail to follow submission guidelines._
   - _The committee rejected the proposal after a long debate._
2. To turn down another person's romantic interest or advances.
   - Simple: To turn down someone who wants to date you or love you.
   - _Most people fear that the person they love will reject them._
   - _She rejected him kindly but firmly after the dance._
5. In basketball, to block an opponent's shot, especially so forcefully that the ball flies off the court.
   - Simple: In basketball, to block a shot and knock the ball away, often off the court.
   - _The center rose up to reject the shot at the buzzer._
   - _He rejected the dunk attempt so hard the ball landed in the third row._

## Noun

Pronunciation: say "REE-jekt" US /ˈɹi.d͡ʒɛkt/, UK /ˈɹiː.d͡ʒɛkt/

3. An item that has been turned down or discarded for failing to meet requirements.
   - Simple: A thing that was not accepted because it was not good enough.
   - _The factory store sells rejects at half price._
   - _That mug was a reject, so I got it cheap._
4. A defective product pulled from a production line and kept from being sold. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A product pulled from the line because something is wrong with it.
   - _Quality control marks each reject before it leaves the floor._
   - _The rejects from this batch all had cracked seals._
6. An unpopular person whom others look down on or exclude from social circles. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person who other people do not like and choose to leave out.
   - _They treated the new student like a reject, ignoring him in the hallways._
   - _He spent years feeling like a reject before finding friends who understood him._
7. An aborted takeoff, halted by the flight crew before the aircraft becomes airborne.
   - Simple: A takeoff that a pilot stops before the plane lifts off the ground.
   - _The captain initiated a reject after hearing an unusual noise during the roll._
   - _High-speed rejects put enormous strain on the brakes._

## Origin

From Late Middle English rejecten, from Latin rēiectus, the past participle of reicere ("to throw back"), formed from re- ("back") plus iacere ("to throw"). It displaced the native Old English āweorpan, literally "to throw out."

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