What does exed mean?
"Exed" is an informal past-tense form of the colloquial verb "to ex." In its most common use it means to mark something with an X or to cross it out — as when a student exes a wrong answer on a worksheet — and by extension it can mean to delete or reject something. A second, distinctly informal sense comes from the noun "ex," meaning a former romantic partner: to have exed someone is to have ended a relationship with them. Because both the base verb and this inflected form are casual rather than standard, they rarely appear in formal writing, where alternatives such as "crossed out," "struck through," or simply naming the action are preferred. Readers will most often encounter "exed" in everyday conversation, informal notes, or online writing about relationships and checklists.
verb (past tense and past participle of "ex")Definition pending review. "Exed" is not an established dictionary headword; it appears only as an informal past-tense form of the verb "ex" (to cross out or to break up with a partner), which itself is colloquial.
- Informal: crossed out or marked with an X; also slang for having ended a romantic relationship with someone.
"She exed out the wrong answer and moved on to the next question."
"He exed the incorrect entries from the tally sheet."
"After three years together, she said she'd finally exed him for good."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exed
The word derives from "ex," a clipping of Latin-derived elements: in the crossing-out sense it reflects the use of the letter X as a mark of cancellation, while in the relationship sense it shortens "ex-partner," in which "ex-" is the Latin prefix meaning "out of" or "former." Both clipped uses arose in modern informal English, and neither has a long documented literary history, so precise first-attestation dates are uncertain.
How exed is actually used
Highly informal and largely confined to casual speech and writing; it is rare in edited prose, where "crossed out" or "struck through" is preferred. The relationship sense derives from the noun "ex" (a former partner).