exercise
verb/ˈeksəsaɪz/
/ˈeksərsaɪz/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they exercise | /ˈeksəsaɪz/ /ˈeksərsaɪz/ |
| he / she / it exercises | /ˈeksəsaɪzɪz/ /ˈeksərsaɪzɪz/ |
| past simple exercised | /ˈeksəsaɪzd/ /ˈeksərsaɪzd/ |
| past participle exercised | /ˈeksəsaɪzd/ /ˈeksərsaɪzd/ |
| -ing form exercising | /ˈeksəsaɪzɪŋ/ /ˈeksərsaɪzɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to do sports or other physical activities in order to stay healthy or become stronger; to make an animal do this
- an hour’s class of exercising to music
- How often do you exercise?
- exercise something Horses need to be exercised regularly.
- [transitive] exercise something to give a part of the body the movement and activity it needs to keep strong and healthy
- These movements will exercise your arms and shoulders.
- [transitive] exercise something (formal) to use your power, rights or personal qualities in order to achieve something
- to exercise power/authority/control
- He was a man who exercised considerable influence over people.
- When she appeared in court she exercised the right to remain silent.
- Judges can exercise discretion in sentencing.
- UK courts retain the right to exercise jurisdiction in the dispute.
- The roads are very slippery, so drivers should exercise caution.
Extra ExamplesTopics Successb2- Each of us has a vote—if we choose to exercise it.
- It is necessary to exercise caution when making recommendations.
- Managers are free to exercise their discretion in these cases.
- The all-powerful steering committee continued to exercise control.
- The company's representative failed to exercise due care.
- They have the right to exercise self-determination.
- the right to freely exercise your religion
- Care must be exercised to ensure there is no cross-contamination between samples.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- effectively
- properly
- fully
- …
- be able to
- be unable to
- be free to
- …
- [usually passive] (formal) if somebody is exercised about something, they are very anxious about it
- be exercised about something The public are less exercised about this matter than the media.
- exercise something This very problem has exercised the minds of some of our most eminent scientists.
do physical activity
use power/right/quality
be anxious
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘application of a right’): via Old French from Latin exercitium, from exercere ‘keep busy, practise’, from ex- ‘thoroughly’ + arcere ‘keep in or away’.
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