What does exported mean?
Exported is the past tense and past participle of the verb export, meaning to send goods, services, or commodities from one country to another for sale or trade. The word carries a distinctly commercial and economic flavor and appears constantly in discussions of international commerce — a nation might have exported automobiles, grain, petroleum, or cultural products such as film and music. In modern usage it also extends naturally into technology: when data, documents, or files are exported, they are transferred from one program, device, or format to another, as when a spreadsheet is exported as a PDF. Derived from Latin roots meaning 'to carry out', the word reflects its literal sense of carrying goods beyond borders. Its counterpart is imported, describing goods brought in rather than sent out, and the two terms together form the backbone of vocabulary surrounding global trade balances and economic policy.
verbPast tense and past participle of export: to send goods or services to another country for sale, or to transfer data or files from one system or format to another.
- Sent goods or services to another country for sale or trade.
- Transferred data, files, or records from one system, program, or format to another.
"The company exported over two million barrels of crude oil last year."
"Italy exported nearly eight billion euros' worth of wine last year."
"She exported the spreadsheet as a PDF so her colleagues could view it without Excel."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exported
Exported derives from the verb export, which entered English in the early 17th century via Middle Dutch or directly from Latin exportare, formed from ex- ('out of') plus portare ('to carry'). The literal Latin sense was 'to carry out' or 'to carry away'. Cognates appear across Romance languages, including French exporter and Spanish exportar, all sharing the same Latin root portare, which also gave English words such as transport, portable, and import.
Related word forms
How exported is actually used
Primarily used in commercial, economic, and technical contexts. In computing, the sense of converting or transferring data between formats is standard register; in trade contexts the word is neutral but common in business and economic journalism.
Easily confused with exported
Imported refers to bringing goods into a country from abroad, whereas exported refers to sending goods out of a country.