exodus
noun · verb
Simple meaning
When a lot of people leave a place at the same time.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehksuhduhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛksədəs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
biblical
The second book of the Old Testament: tells of the departure of the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt led by Moses; God gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of Mosaic law on Mount Sinai during the Exodus
A sudden departure of a large number of people.
biblical
The departure of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
biblical
The second of the Books of Moses in the Old Testament of the Bible, the second book in the Torah describing the Exodus.
verb
To depart from a place in a large group.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The second book of the Old Testament: tells of the departure of the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt led by Moses; God gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of Mosaic law on Mount Sinai during the Exodus
Used this way, exodus is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- hegira , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use exodus
- “There was a mass exodus of people leaving the city before the hurricane hit.”noun
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.