exclude

UK: /ɪkˈskluːd/ US: /ɪkˈsklud/ ,(ik sklo̅o̅d′)

Inflections of 'exclude' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

excludes

v 3rd person singular

excluding

v pres p

excluded

v past

excluded

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ex•clude /ɪkˈsklud/   v. [~ + object] , -clud•ed, -clud•ing. 

1. to shut or keep out;
   prevent the entrance of:
   That dining club still excludes women.
2. to shut out from consideration, privilege, etc.;
   disregard;
   discount:
   The doctor excluded food poisoning as the cause of illness.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ex•clude  (ik sklo̅o̅d′), v.t., -clud•ed, -clud•ing. 

1. to shut or keep out; prevent the entrance of.
2. to shut out from consideration, privilege, etc.:
   Employees and their relatives were excluded from participation in the contest.
3. to expel and keep out;
   thrust out;
   eject:
   He was excluded from the club for infractions of the rules.

• Latin exclūdere to shut out, cut off, equivalent. to ex- ex-¹ + -clūdere (combining form of claudere to close)
• Middle English 1350–1400

ex•clud′er, n. 
ex•clu•so•ry  (ik sklo̅o̅′sə rē, -zə rē), adj.  Synonyms

• 1. bar, prohibit, except, omit, preclude.
• 3. reject.

Antonyms

• 1. include.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

exclude / ɪkˈskluːd/ verb (transitive)

1. to keep out; prevent from entering
2. to reject or not consider; leave out
3. to expel forcibly; eject
4. to debar from school, either temporarily or permanently, as a form of punishment

Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin exclūdere, from claudere to shut

exˈcludable, exˈcludible adjective

exˈcluder noun