What does "exclude" mean?

1. (to keep out) to prevent someone or something from entering a place or joining a group. 2. (to omit from consideration) to leave something out of a plan, list, or calculation. 3. (to rule out a possibility) to decide that something is not the cause of a problem or is not possible. 4. (to refuse evidence) to refuse to allow certain information to be used in a court of law.

How do you use "exclude"?

Often used with the preposition 'from'.

exclude

US //ɪkˈskɫud// UK //ɛksklˈuːd// ex·clude

1 to keep out (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to prevent someone or something from entering a place or joining a group.

to bar someone or something from entering a physical space or participating in an activity.

Example

The club decided to exclude anyone who was not a local resident.

Example

The security protocols were designed to exclude unauthorised personnel from the server room while allowing seamless access for the maintenance team.

Usage

Often used with the preposition 'from'.
- include
- admit
2 to omit from consideration (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Academic

to leave something out of a plan, list, or calculation.

to deliberately omit a factor, person, or item from a set of considerations or data.

Example

The researchers had to exclude some results because the data was not complete.

Example

When calculating the average salary, the analysts chose to exclude the highest and lowest earners to avoid skewing the final figures.
- include
- incorporate

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3 to rule out a possibility (v.)
C1 Advanced Technical Medicine

to decide that something is not the cause of a problem or is not possible.

to eliminate a hypothesis or diagnosis from consideration based on evidence.

Example

The doctor ran several tests to exclude the possibility of a serious infection.

Example

Before proceeding with the surgery, the medical team performed a series of scans to exclude any underlying vascular complications.
- rule out
- eliminate
- confirm
- diagnose
4 to refuse evidence (v.)
C1 Advanced Formal Technical Law

to refuse to allow certain information to be used in a court of law.

to rule that specific evidence is inadmissible in a legal proceeding.

Example

The judge decided to exclude the witness's statement because it was not reliable.

Example

The defence filed a motion to exclude the forensic evidence, arguing that the chain of custody had been compromised during the investigation.
- disallow
- reject
- admit

Origin

Borrowed from Latin exclūdō, from prefix ex- (“out”) + variant form of verb claudō (“close”).