Finance. without, not including, or without the right to have.
ex interest; ex rights.
Commerce. free of charges to the purchaser until the time of removal from a specified place or thing.
ex ship; ex warehouse; ex elevator.
(in U.S. colleges and universities) from, but not graduated with, the class of.
ex '47.
examination.
examined.
example.
except.
exception.
exchange.
excursion.
executed.
executive.
express.
extra.
out of; outside of; from
exclosure
exurbia
former
ex-wife
finance not participating in; excluding; without
ex bonus
ex dividend
ex rights
commerce without charge to the buyer until removed from
ex quay
ex ship
ex works
informal (a person's) former wife, husband, etc
short for examination
First recorded in 1835–45; from Latin; see ex- 1
First recorded in 1820–30; by shortening
First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening
< Latin, combining form of ex, ē (preposition) out (of ), from, beyond
From Greek combining form of ex, ek, “out (of), from, beyond”; see ec-, ex- 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That judge ruled that my ex did not have to pay anything, and he ignored the previous court orders.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
A solution ex machina prevented it from closing, but instead of maintaining the status quo, everybody committed to leveling it up to a Michelin star-worthy bistro.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
"Also the movie is saying sometimes it's better not to stay in the relationship," said Wilde, who has two children with her ex, actor Jason Sudeikis, and dated singer Harry Styles.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
For Apple, as for Jobs, the whole episode involved the kind of deus ex machina you could never get away with in fiction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
“I look way happier than you. It’s cool if you want to call this quits. If you’re still caught up on your ex, I get it. Well, I don’t get it. But I can imagine.”
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
It added it would have a long bonnet to give it a "torpedo-shaped form", drawing inspiration from the company's experimental cars of the 1920s, known as EX models, and the Art Deco era.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
The mission's ability to measure the polarization of X-rays allowed astronomers to closely examine EX Hydrae, a type of system known as an intermediate polar.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 8, 2026
He tells me it is my job to work it out with his EX.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2022
The electrode potential of a half-cell, EX, is the cell potential of said half-cell acting as a cathode when connected to a SHE acting as an anode.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
When L is substituted it will be observed that the English prefix EX means "out of," and that, therefore, Esperanto logically uses the preposition EL, meaning "out of," as the prefix.
From The International Auxiliary Language Esperanto Grammar and Commentary by Cox, George
“Integrating Europe’s capital markets to better channel high household savings towards productive investments in the EU will be essential,” ex- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi concluded in his landmark 2024 report on continental competitiveness.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
“What lamentable comments from the ex- president!” tweeted Luis Carlos Ugalde, who served as president of Mexico’s Federal Election Institute during part of Fox’s presidential term.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2023
An ex- commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army was also sanctioned.
From Reuters ● Mar. 28, 2023
Former colleagues said the ex- Marine Corps officer and former U.S. attorney, who was sworn in as FBI director a week before the 2001 terrorist attacks, is uniquely suited to the task.
From Washington Post ● May 17, 2017
If this ex- panded idea of freedom spread, how safe were the kings and dukes, earls and knights, of England?
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
“And weird that you’re friends with your ex. Why do you need so much male attention? It’s a huge red flag. I mean, haven’t you seen ‘When Harry Met Sally’?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024
“On the outside world, I would never date a friend’s ex. I would never befriend your ex.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2023
“A lot of people I’ve talked to are saying this reminds me of my ex. This reminds me of how my ex responded to the breakup,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2022
Melania responded with a statement including the lines: "There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex. Unfortunately only attention seeking and self-serving noise."
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2017
Exempli gratia: by way of example; abbreviated, e. g., and ex. gr.
From The Verbalist A Manual Devoted to Brief Discussions of the Right and the Wrong Use of Words and to Some Other Matters of Interest to Those Who Would Speak and Write with Propriety. by Osmun, Thomas Embly
Ex.: “...then my roommate walked in and he... etc.”
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2016
The first: "A bone of him shall not be broken," is merely the prescription with regard to the Paschal lamb, Ex. xii.
From Supernatural Religion, Vol. III. (of III) An Inquiry into the Reality of Divine Revelation by Cassels, Walter Richard
As this is a case of a married woman living in her father's house, Ex. xxii.
From The Old Testament In the Light of The Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia by Pinches, Theophilus Goldridge
Rock-hewn altars have also been found, illustrating the prohibition in Ex. xx.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various
Secondly, not called out on Direct Ex.; see Swinke v.
From Gabriel Conroy by Harte, Bert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.