exert


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.

ex·ert

 (ĭg-zûrt′)
tr.v. ex·ert·ed, ex·ert·ing, ex·erts
1. To put to use or effect; put forth: exerted all my strength to move the box.
2. To bring to bear; exercise: exert influence.
3. To put (oneself) to strenuous effort: exerted ourselves mightily to raise funds.

[Latin exserere, exsert-, to put forth, stretch out : ex-, ex- + serere, to join; see ser- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

exert

(ɪɡˈzɜːt)
vb (tr)
1. to use (influence, authority, etc) forcefully or effectively
2. to apply (oneself) diligently; make a strenuous effort
[C17 (in the sense: push forth, emit): from Latin exserere to thrust out, from ex-1 + serere to bind together, entwine]
exˈertion n
exˈertive adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ex•ert

(ɪgˈzɜrt)

v.t.
1. to put forth or into use, as power; exercise, as ability or influence; put into vigorous action.
2. to put (oneself) into strenuous, vigorous action or effort.
[1650–60; < Latin ex(s)ertus, past participle of exserere to thrust out]
ex•er′tive, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

exert

- Can refer to a seed's pushing out or up.
See also related terms for pushing.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

exert


Past participle: exerted
Gerund: exerting

Imperative
exert
exert
Present
I exert
you exert
he/she/it exerts
we exert
you exert
they exert
Preterite
I exerted
you exerted
he/she/it exerted
we exerted
you exerted
they exerted
Present Continuous
I am exerting
you are exerting
he/she/it is exerting
we are exerting
you are exerting
they are exerting
Present Perfect
I have exerted
you have exerted
he/she/it has exerted
we have exerted
you have exerted
they have exerted
Past Continuous
I was exerting
you were exerting
he/she/it was exerting
we were exerting
you were exerting
they were exerting
Past Perfect
I had exerted
you had exerted
he/she/it had exerted
we had exerted
you had exerted
they had exerted
Future
I will exert
you will exert
he/she/it will exert
we will exert
you will exert
they will exert
Future Perfect
I will have exerted
you will have exerted
he/she/it will have exerted
we will have exerted
you will have exerted
they will have exerted
Future Continuous
I will be exerting
you will be exerting
he/she/it will be exerting
we will be exerting
you will be exerting
they will be exerting
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been exerting
you have been exerting
he/she/it has been exerting
we have been exerting
you have been exerting
they have been exerting
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been exerting
you will have been exerting
he/she/it will have been exerting
we will have been exerting
you will have been exerting
they will have been exerting
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been exerting
you had been exerting
he/she/it had been exerting
we had been exerting
you had been exerting
they had been exerting
Conditional
I would exert
you would exert
he/she/it would exert
we would exert
you would exert
they would exert
Past Conditional
I would have exerted
you would have exerted
he/she/it would have exerted
we would have exerted
you would have exerted
they would have exerted
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.exert - put to use; "exert one's power or influence"
apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize - put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer"
2.exert - have and exercise; "wield power and authority"
have, have got, hold - have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense; "She has $1,000 in the bank"; "He has got two beautiful daughters"; "She holds a Master's degree from Harvard"
3.exert - make a great effort at a mental or physical taskexert - make a great effort at a mental or physical task; "exert oneself"
act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"
overexert - exert (oneself) excessively and go beyond one's strength; "don't overexert yourself when exercising!"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

exert

verb apply, use, exercise, employ, wield, make use of, utilize, expend, bring to bear, put forth, bring into play He exerted all his considerable charm to get her to agree.
exert yourself make an effort, work, labour, struggle, strain, strive, endeavour, go for it (informal), try hard, toil, bend over backwards (informal), do your best, go for broke (slang), bust a gut (informal), spare no effort, make a great effort, give it your best shot (informal), break your neck (informal), apply yourself, put yourself out, make an all-out effort (informal), get your finger out (Brit. informal), pull your finger out (Brit. informal), knock yourself out (informal), do your damnedest (informal), give it your all (informal), rupture yourself (informal) He never exerts himself for other people.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

exert

verb
To bring to bear steadily or forcefully:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَبْذِلُ جُهْدَه، يُجْهِدُ نَفْسَهيُمارِس
udøve
beita sér, reyna af fremsta megnineyta, beita
panaudojimaspasistengti
ietekmētizrādītpiepūlētiessasprindzināt spēkus
çaba göstermekkullanmak

exert

[ɪgˈzɜːt] VT [+ strength, force] → emplear; [+ influence, authority] → ejercer
to exert o.s (physically) → esforzarse (to do sth por hacer algo) (= overdo things) → esforzarse or trabajar demasiado
don't exert yourself! (iro) → ¡no te vayas a quebrar or herniar! (iro)
he doesn't exert himself at allno hace el más mínimo esfuerzo
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

exert

[ɪgˈzɜːrt] vt
[+ influence, moral pressure] → exercer
to exert pressure on sb → exercer une pression sur qn
[+ physical pressure] → exercer; [+ force] → exercer
to exert pressure on sth → exercer une pression sur qch
to exert o.s. → se dépenser
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

exert

vt pressure, influence, power, controlausüben (→ on auf +acc); authorityaufbieten, einsetzen (on bei); forcegebrauchen, anwenden; to exert a force on somethingeine Kraft auf etw (acc)ausüben
vrsich anstrengen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

exert

[ɪgˈzɜːt] vt (force) → impiegare; (influence, authority) → esercitare
to exert o.s (physically) → fare uno sforzo
don't exert yourself! (hum) → non sforzarti troppo!
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

exert

(igˈzəːt) verb
1. to bring forcefully into use or action. He likes to exert his authority.
2. to force (oneself) to make an effort. Please exert yourselves.
exˈertion (-ʃən) noun
1. the act of bringing forcefully into use. the exertion of one's influence.
2. (an) effort. They failed in spite of their exertions.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

exert

vt to — oneself esforzarse, hacer esfuerzos
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
Having eaten her supper, Cecilia's immediate anxieties were at an end; she was at leisure to exert her intelligence for the benefit of her schoolfellows.
Nor did my hate long confine itself to useless wishes; I began to reflect on the best means of securing him; and for this purpose, about a month after my release, I repaired to a criminal judge in the town and told him that I had an accusation to make, that I knew the destroyer of my family, and that I required him to exert his whole authority for the apprehension of the murderer.
I strongly urge you to use your influence, on every occasion when you can fairly exert it, to strengthen that growing attachment, and to place it beyond the reach of any coming disasters, while you have the opportunity of doing so.
Her father, contented with laughing at them, would never exert himself to restrain the wild giddiness of his youngest daughters; and her mother, with manners so far from right herself, was entirely insensible of the evil.
His last journey to London had been undertaken with no other view than that of introducing her brother in Hill Street, and prevailing on the Admiral to exert whatever interest he might have for getting him on.
Now, also, she was denied the solace which the companionship of the coachman, grooms, horses, greyhounds, and pointers might have afforded; for her mother having, notwithstanding the disadvantages of a country life, so satisfactorily disposed of her elder daughter, the pride of her heart had begun seriously to turn her attention to the younger; and, being truly alarmed at the roughness of her manners, and thinking it high time to work a reform, had been roused at length to exert her authority, and prohibited entirely the yards, stables, kennels, and coach-house.
But the look she gave him plainly said, 'Do you choose for me now: I have done enough for him, and will gladly exert myself to gratify you;' and thus encouraged, his lordship came forward, and turning over the music, presently set before her a little song that I had noticed before, and read more than once, with an interest arising from the circumstance of my connecting it in my mind with the reigning tyrant of my thoughts.
Mr Swiveller heard this account with a degree of admiration not altogether consistent with the project in which he had just concurred, but his friend attached very little importance to his behavior in this respect, probably because he knew that he had influence sufficient to control Richard Swiveller's proceedings in this or any other matter, whenever he deemed it necessary, for the advancement of his own purposes, to exert it.
PETER gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself.
Such is the present spirit of my nation." But he continued to exert all his powers to restrain his troops from attacking.
Then and there he was first struck with the charms of the piscatory princess, as she exerted herself to entertain her father's guest.
My Father started--"What noise is that," (said he.) "It sounds like a loud rapping at the door"--(replied my Mother.) "it does indeed." (cried I.) "I am of your opinion; (said my Father) it certainly does appear to proceed from some uncommon violence exerted against our unoffending door." "Yes (exclaimed I) I cannot help thinking it must be somebody who knocks for admittance."