English Reference
Verb

oust

v.
C1 Advanced US /ˈaʊst/ UK /ˈaʊst/ oust UK spelling ousted, ousts

v.to force someone out of a position or a place. You use this when someone is removed from power or a home by others.

v.to remove someone from a position of power, office, or residence by force or legal action.


SIMPLE

The voters decided to oust the mayor after the scandal.

CONTEXTUAL

The board of directors voted to oust the CEO following a series of financial mismanagement reports.

COMPLEX

The political movement gained enough momentum to oust the long-standing regime, though the transition to a new government proved to be a slow and contentious process.

Corbin Trent , her first communications director in the House of Representatives and the co-founder of Justice Democrats, was there on the night she ousted Crowley.

The Guardian· 15 Aug 2026

The US president posted on Truth Social on Tuesday saying it would be a “terrible mistake” if Infantino was ousted as president.

The Guardian· 11 Aug 2026

From Anglo-Norman ouster, oustier, from Old French oster (modern French ôter), from post-classical Latin obstare (“to remove”), classical obstāre (“to obstruct, stand in the way of”). Not related to out.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated