expelled; expelling
1
: to force out : eject
expelled the smoke from her lungs
2
: to force to leave (a place, an organization, etc.) by official action : take away rights or privileges of membership
was expelled from college
Did you know?
To expel is to drive out, and its usual noun is expulsion. Expel is similar to eject, but expel suggests pushing out while eject suggests throwing out. Also, ejecting may only be temporary: the player ejected from a game may be back tomorrow, but the student expelled from school is probably out forever.
Examples of expel in a Sentence
The club may expel members who do not follow the rules.
She was expelled from school for bad behavior.
expel air from the lungs
Recent Examples on the Web
Meanwhile, a White House official this week proposed expelling Canada from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, in a move that could further escalate tensions between the two countries.
—
Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
The Arab League is holding a summit in Egypt on Tuesday to strategize a proposal to counter President Donald Trump's proposal to forcibly expel Palestinians from their land in Gaza and reconstruct the strip -- a proposal that experts and U.S. allies have said violates international law.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2025
In 2012, Vladimir Putin expelled the agency from Russia, purportedly for inciting pro-democratic unrest; Evo Morales, the left-wing president of Bolivia, ejected it the next year.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2025
Two Barnard College students were expelled for disrupting a class at Columbia University on the history of modern Israel, in what appear to be the first expulsions for pro-Palestinian activism on the campus since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for expel
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Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
The Arab League is holding a summit in Egypt on Tuesday to strategize a proposal to counter President Donald Trump's proposal to forcibly expel Palestinians from their land in Gaza and reconstruct the strip -- a proposal that experts and U.S. allies have said violates international law.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2025
In 2012, Vladimir Putin expelled the agency from Russia, purportedly for inciting pro-democratic unrest; Evo Morales, the left-wing president of Bolivia, ejected it the next year.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2025
Two Barnard College students were expelled for disrupting a class at Columbia University on the history of modern Israel, in what appear to be the first expulsions for pro-Palestinian activism on the campus since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for expel
Cite this Entry
“Expel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expel. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
expel
verb
ex·pel
ik-ˈspel 
expelled; expelling
1
: to drive or force out
expel air from the lungs
2
: to force to leave usually by official action
expelled from school
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