# exit

/ˈɛɡzɪt/ (US) · /ˈɛɡzɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/exit
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. a way out

noun · CEFR A2

a door, gate, or road that you use to leave a place.

For teachers: a point of egress from an enclosed space, building, or vehicle.

- The emergency exit is located at the back of the cinema.
- The fire marshal insisted that every emergency exit remain unobstructed and clearly illuminated throughout the duration of the performance.

### 2. leaving a place

noun · CEFR B1

the act of leaving a place or a situation.

For teachers: the act of departing from a location, position, or social situation.

- The actor made a quick exit after his final line in the play.
- Her sudden exit from the meeting left the rest of the board members in a state of confused silence.

### 3. to leave a place

verb · CEFR A2

to go out of a building, room, or vehicle.

For teachers: to depart from a physical space; often used as an intransitive verb.

- Please wait for the train to stop completely before you exit.
- The passengers were instructed to exit the aircraft via the inflatable slides during the emergency drill.

### 4. to close a program

verb · CEFR B1

to stop using a computer program or app.

For teachers: to terminate a software application or subroutine.

- Make sure you save your work before you exit the program.
- The system crashed because the user attempted to exit the application while a large background process was still synchronising with the server.

### 5. theatre direction

verb · CEFR B2 · Formal · Literary

a word used in a play script to tell an actor to leave the stage.

For teachers: a stage direction indicating that a character leaves the scene.

- The script says 'Exit Hamlet' at the end of the scene.
- The stage manager noted that the protagonist should exit stage left to maintain the continuity of the following sequence.

## Examples

- The emergency exit is at the back of the room.
- The driver missed the highway exit and had to drive five miles to the next one.
- The actor made a dramatic exit from the stage, leaving the audience in stunned silence as the lights dimmed for the final intermission.

---

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.