verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To make use of, to apply, especially of something non-material; to bring to bear. transitive

   "He considered exerting his influence on John to gain an advantage for himself."

2. 2
   put to use wordnet
3. 3
   To put in vigorous action. reflexive

   "I exerted myself in today's training."

4. 4
   have and exercise wordnet
5. 5
   make a great effort at a mental or physical task wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

exercisewieldapplyassertattemptbring into play

Example

More examples

"Your sense of humor is beginning to exert itself."

Etymology

From Latin exsertus, past participle of exserō (“to stretch or thrust forth or out”), from ex- + serō (“to string together”).

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