exerted; exerting; exerts
1
a
: to put forth (strength, effort, etc.)
the force is exerted sideways
b
: to put (oneself) into action or to tiring effort
won't have to exert himself moving the table
2
: to bring to bear especially with sustained effort or lasting effect
exerted a bad influence on his students
Examples of exert in a Sentence
He had to exert all of his strength to move the stone.
He exerts a lot of influence on the other members of the committee.
the force exerted by the machine
Recent Examples on the Web
To counter such worries, President Roosevelt exerted tremendous effort to make the canal project an idealistic symbol of U.S. global power.
—
Julie Greene / Made By History, TIME, 22 Jan. 2025
Far from issuing angry threats and ultimatums in public to exert pressure, Carter’s norm was to make calm, personal appeals to key leaders and listen patiently to their concerns.
—Penny Abeywardena, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
And Beijing is increasingly leveraging that production power to exert pressure on other countries, such as by limiting the export of critical chipmaking materials like gallium and germanium to the U.S.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune Asia, 20 Jan. 2025
Growing political power The wealthy are also increasingly exerting influence over politics.
—Tami Luhby, CNN, 19 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for exert 
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Julie Greene / Made By History, TIME, 22 Jan. 2025
Far from issuing angry threats and ultimatums in public to exert pressure, Carter’s norm was to make calm, personal appeals to key leaders and listen patiently to their concerns.
—Penny Abeywardena, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
And Beijing is increasingly leveraging that production power to exert pressure on other countries, such as by limiting the export of critical chipmaking materials like gallium and germanium to the U.S.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune Asia, 20 Jan. 2025
Growing political power The wealthy are also increasingly exerting influence over politics.
—Tami Luhby, CNN, 19 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for exert
Dictionary Entries Near exert
Cite this Entry
“Exert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exert. Accessed 26 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
exert
verb
ex·ert
ig-ˈzərt 
1
: to put forth (as strength)
the force exerted by a machine
: bring into use or action
exert influence
2
: to put (oneself) into action or to tiring effort
don't exert yourself too much
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