What does "excretion" mean?

The process of removing or ejecting material that has no further utility, especially from the body; the act of excreting.

What is a synonym for "excretion"?

Common synonyms include: elimination, excrement, body waste, body waste, cleaning out, clearance.

Excretion

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1
The process of removing or ejecting material that has no further utility, especially from the body; the act of excreting. countable, uncountable
2
the bodily process of discharging waste matter wordnet
3
Something excreted in that manner, especially urine or feces. countable, uncountable
"[…] the removal of all soiled liquids, and of such offaling, secretions and excretions as are easily or naturally reduced to a liquid or semiliquid state."
4
waste matter (as urine or sweat but especially feces) discharged from the body wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

elimination excrement body waste body waste cleaning out clearance

Example

More examples

"[…] the removal of all soiled liquids, and of such offaling, secretions and excretions as are easily or naturally reduced to a liquid or semiliquid state."

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French excrétion, or Late Latin excretio, excretionis, from Latin excerno.

More for "excretion"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.