1A way out, especially of a public building, room, or passenger vehicle.

1. 1.1A ramp where traffic can leave a highway, major road, or traffic circle.
   ‘he pulled off at an exit and stopped his Mercedes-Benz’
   More example sentences

   • ‘They will tower over drivers from either side of slip road exits and entrances at junction three for the 12-month trial period.’
   • ‘She called for better traffic light filter systems, widened access roads and more exits from the car parks.’
   • ‘It will also tell you when your freeway exit is coming, and if you're not familiar with the area, it will even tell you what side of the road the exit is on.’
   • ‘Four exits and ten road signs later, and we pulled into Erie.’
   • ‘I realized I'd ignored the road signs for our exit.’
   • ‘She didn't say anything, instead, she just turned off an exit and onto a road I actually recognized.’
   • ‘She was having trouble with her windshield wipers and pulled over to the right shoulder, stopping between the Avenue Road and Bayview Avenue exits.’
   • ‘The signs at the roundabout tell you to take the exit which joins the road you've just left.’
   • ‘York motorists have got used to the No Right Turn sign painted on the road at the exit to Museum Street.’
   • ‘One of the rules of the road is that you do not enter a yellow box junction unless your exit is clear or you're turning right.’
   • ‘At the second roundabout, take the Sherrifmuir exit and follow the road for about 1.2km.’
   • ‘Therefore we are calling on Waterford City Council to alter the entrances and exits at the Tramore Road roundabout in line with pedestrian and cyclist safety.’
   • ‘The bus driver is stopped at the end of the exit checking traffic to his left.’
   • ‘On Tuesday, protests by striking janitors snarled downtown traffic and blocked exits on the Harbor and Pasadena freeways.’
   • ‘The exit to the road where I got off to go home was partially closed.’
   • ‘He looked back to the road and noticed the exit was right in front of us.’
   • ‘Jack wandered through the neighborhood in search of an exit to the main road.’
   • ‘We saw the Lada come out of an exit further up the road and join the new one.’
   • ‘Take first available exit off roundabout on to M6 at junction 38 towards Lancaster, Penrith.’
   • ‘Access to the development will be via a purpose-built roundabout at the slipway exit to the town from the M4.’
   Synonyms

   turning, turn-off, turn, side road

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2An act of going out of or leaving a place.

1. 2.1A departure of an actor from the stage.
   ‘the brief soliloquy following Clarence's exit’
   More example sentences

   • ‘The stage was sectioned off with mirrored panels that swiveled to allow the entrances and exits of dancers and actors.’
   • ‘As their set rounded up, she thanked the audience and made her exit off the stage.’
   • ‘The two farces begin to interlock as the characters make their exits from the front stage only to find themselves making entrances into a worse nightmare back-stage.’
   • ‘With this actor as Spartacus, the exit has no force: he just walks off.’
   • ‘The frequency of entries, exits and prolonged blackouts during scene changes detracts from the performances.’
   • ‘Another dancer had to have a screw implanted in a foot, and a third fell several feet, landing on his back during what has been described as a rushed stage exit.’
   • ‘The mouse took his exit from the stage at this point, leaving a situation that defies being wound up with any kind of a satisfactorily dramatic close.’
2. 2.2A departure from a particular situation.
   ‘Australia's early exit from the World Cup’
   More example sentences

   • ‘A comfortable exit from this situation would allow him to declare himself injured and thus unavailable to compete.’
   • ‘You are truly disturbed and want to quit, but nothing you say works to get your exit from this unexpectedly distressing situation.’
   • ‘He flashed them a smile and I decided that the best way to handle the situation was a dramatic exit.’
   • ‘The movement of Labor advisors from various departments and some advisor exits to private business hasn't helped Labor stability.’
   • ‘Don't think that the Secretary of Defense's exit and the Justice Department's backing off mean the fight is done.’
   • ‘The majority of people throughout the world will admit to thinking about taking their own lives at some point in their past, as a way out of a situation that seems to have no other exit.’
   • ‘During this time, mobility was read as the ability to depart, or as the privilege of exit.’
   • ‘Now Atlanta is in town for a final three games with payback on their mind for their disappointing exit from the playoffs last year.’
   • ‘It's been clear by our administration and by the leadership of the military that our exit from this theater should be condition-based.’
   • ‘Our last exit from an international tournament, losing on aggregate to England in the Euro 2000 play-off, was similarly splendid as we won at Wembley.’
   • ‘I'm pleased to be in a position to contribute to the armed forces bill debate on April 2; I made an unorthodox exit from the army two years ago.’
   • ‘When he took over the reins of Georgia more than a decade ago, he could never have imagined the ignominy that would surround his exit from office.’
   • ‘It was allegedly cooked up by a powerful personality who had to face a disgraceful exit from one of the Tata companies, in connivance with a chief political figure of that time.’
   • ‘Will he now make his exit from history solely because he didn't have the gumption to pen a letter of sympathy on a Terrigal letterhead?’
   • ‘I think that today it's extremely difficult for even the most creative and imaginative among us to think of an exit from the deadlock we're in.’
   • ‘Even now the disappointment prevails, ten days after our exit from the All-Ireland hurling championship at the semi-final stage.’
   • ‘The team managed to steady themselves and managed a brief rally before the final whistle signalled their exit from the competition.’
   • ‘‘I am ready to pay any political price, even my exit from politics,’ he said.’
   • ‘This came from a man apparently planning his exit from the military, thus not seeking personal gain.’
   • ‘It could be argued that exits from the job market due to illness or disability are used by governments in the EU as an excuse to disguise the true level of unemployment.’
   Synonyms

   departure, leaving, withdrawal, retirement, going, decamping, retreat, pull-out, evacuation

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1Go out of or leave a place.

1. 1.1(of an actor) leave the stage.
   ‘After each film snippet, the darkened stage lit up to reveal that person in the flesh, dressed in street clothes and performing one phrase, center stage, before exiting.’
   More example sentences

   • ‘At one performance of The Nutcracker that season, the young actress dropped her hoop on stage before exiting.’
   • ‘He'd peered back at them from the wings of the stage as he exited.’
   • ‘Standing now, the applause reaches its crescendo, and she exits stage right.’
   • ‘Testament to all of this are the ear splitting cheers to which Jon-Lee exits the stage.’
   • ‘When I returned to the club, Victoria was just exiting the stage.’
   • ‘She stood up gracefully and took a low bow before exiting the stage.’
   • ‘Before I know it, they're done and are exiting the stage, laughing to each other.’
   • ‘As he exited the stage, the audience gave a standing ovation that lasted almost three minutes.’
   • ‘The opening went off without a single problem and Lily exited the stage with a smile.’
   • ‘In her final departure from the stage, she exits in an almost imperceptible motion that embodies both the blinding and undetectable transition to another space.’
   • ‘She bows, turns stage left, and exits to the strains of the piano sonata.’
   • ‘The rest of the players exit, the curtain falls, and the stage is reset.’
   • ‘As the two lovers exit, Helena is left onstage alone with her conniving thoughts.’
   • ‘I had to wait through much of the next scene for everyone else to exit, and to get through my arguing scene with Mortimer.’
2. 1.2exitUsed as a stage direction in a printed play to indicate that a character leaves the stage.
   See also exeunt
   More example sentences

   • ‘exit Pamela’
3. 1.3Leave a particular situation.
   ‘organizations that do not have freedom to exit from unprofitable markets’
   More example sentences

   • ‘This may mean that buyers will not allow prices to rise like last time, but it could also mean that owners will be more ready to exit from the market.’
   • ‘Firms have been quietly reducing excess capacity and exiting unprofitable businesses.’
   • ‘One explanation for these declines is obvious: Wives now have more freedom to exit bad relationships.’
   • ‘Nine months ago, I was totally wrong about the immediate need to exit the stock market, although my advice to go into metals at the time was impeccably sound.’
   • ‘It's a good thing that some wise women before our time, decided that women had to exit the non-income labour market, and get into the income labour market.’
   • ‘Sellers with very good cars will exit the market, leaving only the relatively poor cars.’
   • ‘In addition there has been a retraction of the domestic market which has led the company to make a decision to exit the market entirely.’
   • ‘For others, it may mean exiting a market segment.’
   • ‘There is significant turnover in high-technology industries with firms both entering and exiting the market.’
   • ‘I suspect the rumors are true and they'll soon be exiting the market completely.’
   • ‘When this bubble burst and companies exited the market in droves, rates went up dramatically.’
   • ‘They sought to renegotiate the terms of the funding being promised by the bank, which balked at the radical changes proposed and exited from the deal.’
   • ‘The company has exited from a number of non-performing businesses to focus on its core airport operations.’
   • ‘They are now exiting from the center stage of politics.’
   • ‘England stayed away, in the end, and exited at the first stage - again.’
   • ‘He exited at an early stage and is suggesting that he did badly because he was traumatised.’
   • ‘Now, twenty-eight years later, thanks to a decision by a Chilean appeals court, he exits the public stage still beyond the reach of the law.’
   • ‘I am very concerned that there are people in this industry who have indicated they will exit the industry, because they feel that they just cannot make ends meet.’
   • ‘If the price action rises after the evening star, traders will want to exit as soon as possible to minimize losses but still maintain a healthy risk measure.’
   • ‘Nobody expected England and France would exit early.’
4. 1.4Computing Terminate a process or program, usually returning to an earlier or more general level of interaction.
   ‘this key enables you to temporarily exit from a LIFESPAN option’
   More example sentences

   • ‘A user can right-click on that to exit the program - thereby preventing it from recording Web surfing, e-mail and chat sessions.’
   • ‘Changing modes like this does, however, require that you then exit the program and restart it for the changes to take effect.’
   • ‘To exit the program, hit Alt-F again, and hit X or use the arrow keys to select Exit.’
   • ‘She quickly exited the program and turned her full attention to her friend.’
   • ‘Please quit all applications, exit Windows, and try again.’
5. 1.5Bridge Relinquish the lead.
   More example sentences

   • ‘declarer must cash his top spades and exit with ♦2’