# exclude

/ɪkˈskɫud/ (US) · /ɛksklˈuːd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/exclude
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to keep out

verb · CEFR B2

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

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

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

### 2. to omit from consideration

verb · CEFR B2 · Academic

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

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

- The researchers had to exclude some results because the data was not complete.
- When calculating the average salary, the analysts chose to exclude the highest and lowest earners to avoid skewing the final figures.

### 3. to rule out a possibility

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

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

- The doctor ran several tests to exclude the possibility of a serious infection.
- Before proceeding with the surgery, the medical team performed a series of scans to exclude any underlying vascular complications.

### 4. to refuse evidence

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal · Technical

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

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

- The judge decided to exclude the witness's statement because it was not reliable.
- The defence filed a motion to exclude the forensic evidence, arguing that the chain of custody had been compromised during the investigation.

## Examples

- The club decided to exclude members who do not pay their fees.
- The researchers had to exclude several participants from the final study because they did not meet the health requirements.
- While the initial proposal seemed comprehensive, the committee chose to exclude certain high-risk investments to protect the long-term stability of the pension fund.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.