oust

IPA/aʊst/
KK[ˈaʊst]IPA/aʊst/

oust — verb

  • oustpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • oustshe / she / it
  • oustedpast simple
  • ousting-ing form

1. to make a person, group, or business lose an important job, place, or leading po

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to make a person, group, or business lose an important job, place, or leading position so that they are pushed out

Example

Voters ousted the mayor after months of secret travel bills.

political use: oust + elected official

The board ousted Emma from the museum leadership team before the budget vote.

oust + noun phrase + from + position

Common collocations
  • oust the mayor
  • oust a rival from first place
  • oust a leader from office
  • oust a company from the market
Synonyms
  • depose

    more formal and mostly used for rulers or political leaders

  • expel

    focuses on forcing someone out of a place, school, group, or country

  • supplant

    formal and often about taking someone's place, with less focus on the act of forcing them out

  • replace

    neutral everyday word that does not itself suggest conflict

Antonyms
  • reinstate

    to put someone back into the position after removal

  • retain

    to keep a person or group in the same job or position

Grammar Patterns

oust + noun phrase

oust + noun phrase + from + place/position

Usage Note

Common in news and formal writing. The object is usually a person, group, or business that currently holds power, a place, or the lead, and the sentence often states what they are pushed out of with from.

Common Mistakes

The school ousted the broken desks last summer.
The school replaced the broken desks last summer.
'oust' is used for forcing people or groups out, not for changing ordinary objects.
Gita ousted Zayd in a friendly game of cards.
Gita beat Zayd in a friendly game of cards.
'oust' suggests pushing someone out of a competition, lead, or position, not just winning one normal game.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Oust is used when a person, group, or business is pushed out of power, a place, or a leading position against its will. Depose is narrower and strongly political, mostly used for rulers or presidents. Expel focuses on driving someone out of a school, club, country, or other group, so it is less about taking over a job. Supplant is formal and often describes one person or thing taking another's place, but it does not always stress the struggle. Replace is the neutral everyday word and does not by itself suggest conflict. You can replace an old printer, but you oust a mayor after a scandal. In sport or business, a rival can also be ousted from the top spot, which makes oust broader than depose and sharper than replace.

oust ↗depose ↗expel ↗supplant ↗replace ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • oust from office
  • oust from power
  • oust from first place

Prepositions

Etymology

Old FrenchAnglo-FrenchEnglish

Oust entered English through Anglo-French legal language, where it referred to putting someone out or taking something away. In early English it often described removing a person from land or possession. Later the verb widened to the more general idea of forcing someone out of office, power, or another place they held.

First known use

15th century

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a