ex

¹

[ eks ]

preposition

1. Finance. without, not including, or without the right to have:

   ex interest; ex rights.

2. Commerce. free of charges to the purchaser until the time of removal from a specified place or thing:

   ex ship; ex warehouse; ex elevator.

3. (in U.S. colleges and universities) from, but not graduated with, the class of:

   ex '47.

ex-

²

1. a prefix meaning “out of,” “from,” and hence “utterly,” “thoroughly,” and sometimes meaning “not” or “without” or indicating a former title, status, etc.; freely used as an English formative: exstipulate; exterritorial; ex-president (former president); ex-member; ex-wife .

ex

³

[ eks ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a former spouse or a former partner in a long-term romantic relationship; ex-wife, ex-husband, or ex-lover.

ex-

⁴

1. variant of exo-.

ex

⁵

[ eks ]

noun

1. the letter X, x.

ex-

⁶

1. a prefix identical in meaning with ex- 1, occurring before vowels in words of Greek origin: exarch; exegesis .

ex

⁷

[ eks ]

adjective

, Slang.

1. excellent ( def 1 ).

EX

⁸

abbreviation for

1. Biology, Ecology. extinct ( def 2 ).

ex.

⁹

abbreviation for

1. examination.
2. examined.
3. example.
4. except.
5. exception.
6. exchange.
7. excursion.
8. executed.
9. executive.
10. express.
11. extra.

Ex.

¹⁰

abbreviation for

, Bible.

1. Exodus.

ex-

¹

prefix

1. out of; outside of; from

   exurbia

   exclosure

2. former

   ex-wife

ex-

²

combining_form

1. a variant of exo-

   exergonic

Ex.

³

abbreviation for

1. Exodus

ex

⁴

/ ɛks /

noun

1. informal.
   (a person's) former wife, husband, etc
2. short for examination

ex

⁵

/ ɛks /

preposition

1. finance not participating in; excluding; without

   ex dividend

   ex rights

   ex bonus

2. commerce without charge to the buyer until removed from

   ex works

   ex ship

   ex quay

Word History and Origins

Origin of ex¹

First recorded in 1835–45; from Latin; ex- ¹

Origin of ex²

< Latin, combining form of ex, ē (preposition) out (of ), from, beyond

Origin of ex³

First recorded in 1820–30; by shortening

Origin of ex⁴

From Greek combining form of ex, ek, “out (of), from, beyond”; ec-, ex- ¹

Origin of ex⁵

First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening

Word History and Origins

Origin of ex¹

from Latin, from ex (prep), identical in meaning and origin with Greek ex, ek; see ec-

Origin of ex²

C19: from Latin: out of, from

Example Sentences

Among the attendees were Payne's ex, Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, with whom he shared 7-year-old son Bear Grey, as well as James Corden and One Direction co-creator Simon Cowell, according to People.

From Salon

Zardoya playfully alluded to the topicality of “Submarine” on “No One Noticed,” where she gently taunted the crowd, “If you want your ex back, sing it.”

From Los Angeles Times

Inspired by the tea party’s moderate successes during Barack Obama’s 2009 Democratic trifecta, Ezra Levin and his spouse, Leah Greenberg, both ex–congressional staffers, released a guide to blocking Trump’s agenda in mid-December 2016.

From Slate

Dividing assets evenly with her ex, a retired lawyer, left her with half as much in savings — but, Ms. Solomon said, “my happiness was worth more to me than the money.”

From New York Times

But she indicated we may hear more from her ex in due course, saying: “I do think that he will talk about things eventually. I do think that when he’s ready, like, maybe more will be said. But I think that’s for him to do on his terms.”

From BBC

Related Words

• earlier
• early
• late
• old
• preceding
• previous
• prior
• recent