What does ejected mean?
Ejected is the past tense and past participle of the verb eject, meaning to force someone or something out of a place, position, or situation, typically with suddenness or authority. The word spans several familiar domains: sports officials eject players who break rules; landlords may seek to have tenants ejected from property through legal process; pilots eject from failing aircraft via ejection seats; and machines eject items such as discs or spent casings. The tone is generally forceful and often involuntary — a person who is ejected does not choose to leave but is removed, whether physically, legally, or mechanically. Derived from Latin eicere, meaning to throw out, the term has been part of English since the sixteenth century and remains standard in both British and American usage. It is a precise, versatile alternative to softer words like removed, carrying an implication of compulsion that makes it valuable in legal, sporting, technical, and journalistic writing.
verb (past tense and past participle of eject)The past tense and past participle of eject: to force or throw someone or something out, often suddenly or forcefully, from a place, position, or situation.
- To force or throw someone out of a place, especially physically or by authority (e.g., ejected from the building, ejected from a game).
- To remove or discharge something suddenly, as from a machine, vehicle, or body (e.g., the pilot ejected from the jet; the drive ejected the disc).
- To dismiss or remove someone from a position, office, or property (e.g., ejected from office; ejected from their home).
"The umpire ejected the pitcher from the game after the heated argument."
"Security ejected the disruptive fan from the stadium before halftime."
"The pilot ejected moments before the aircraft went down."
From aircraft cockpits to parliamentary chambers, when something gets ejected, it doesn't leave quietly — it's thrown out with force.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ejected
Ejected derives from the Latin eicere (past participle eiectus), formed from ex- meaning out plus iacere meaning to throw. The word entered English in the sixteenth century, initially in legal and ecclesiastical contexts for removing people from property or office, and later broadened to physical expulsion and mechanical discharge. Cognates sharing the same Latin root include inject, project, reject, and trajectory.
Related word forms
How ejected is actually used
Register is neutral to slightly formal; common in legal contexts (eviction), sports officiating, aviation (ejecting from aircraft), and everyday speech. The verb 'eject' carries a connotation of force or authority rather than voluntary departure.
Easily confused with ejected
Injected means to introduce something into something else (often a fluid into a body), while ejected means to force something out.