oust

/aʊst/

/aʊst/

Other forms: ousted; ousting; ousts

A teacher may oust you from class if you are being disruptive, or you might oust your class president from her position if you beat her in the election. To oust is to “expel,” “kick out,” or “remove and replace.”

When you oust someone, you are “giving them the boot.” A sports team is ousted from a tournament if they lose an elimination round. Oust often implies both removal and replacement. The automobile, for instance, ousted the horse as the preferred means of travel. Likewise, when a politician ousts someone from office they are taking that person’s place in office. And if you beat the all-time record in a hot-dog eating tournament, then you oust the previous record holder from their position.

Definitions of oust

1. verb

   remove from a position or office
   “The chairman was ousted after he misappropriated funds”

   synonyms: boot out, drum out, expel, kick out, throw out

   types:

   excommunicate

   oust or exclude from a group or membership by decree

   depose, force out

   force to leave (an office)

   bring down, overthrow, overturn, subvert, topple

   cause the downfall of; of rulers

   type of:

   remove

   remove from a position or an office
2. verb

   remove and replace
   “The word processor has ousted the typewriter”

   type of:

   replace, supercede, supersede, supervene upon, supplant

   take the place or move into the position of