Word.ws English Dictionary

ex.

ex. is the abbreviation of example.

ex. is the abbreviation of exercise.

Meaning of example

Noun

example (plural examples)

  1. Something that is representative of all such things in a group.
    • If Demandt's essay served as a strident example of the German desire for normalcy, a more subtle example was provided by a brief allohistorical depiction of a Nazi victory in World War II written by German historian Michael Salewski in 1999.2005 May 23, Gavriel D. Rosenfeld, The World Hitler Never Made: Alternate History and the Memory of Nazism, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 182
  2. Something that serves to illustrate or explain a rule.
    • Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, […]. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected...2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3
  3. Something that serves as a pattern of behaviour to be imitated (a good example) or not to be imitated (a bad example).
    • Nelson Mandela was an example for many to follow.
  4. A person punished as a warning to others.
    • […]hang him, hee'le be made an example.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  5. A parallel or closely similar case, especially when serving as a precedent or model.
    • Such temperate order in ſo fierce a cauſe, / Doth want example:[…]c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  6. An instance (as a problem to be solved) serving to illustrate the rule or precept or to act as an exercise in the application of the rule.

See all 7 meanings of example

Meaning of exercise

Noun

exercise (countable and uncountable, plural exercises)

  1. (countable) Any activity designed to develop or hone a skill or ability.
    • The teacher told us that the next exercise is to write an essay.
  2. Activity intended to improve physical, or sometimes mental, strength and fitness.
    • I like to do my exercises every morning before breakfast. I do calisthenics for physical exercise, and I do crosswords for mental exercise.
    1. Such activity of physical nature, for physical fitness (plus also mental benefit).
      • Swimming is good exercise.
    2. Such activity of mental nature, for neurocognitive health.
      • Such exercises as puzzles and chess can help keep the mind sharp as we age.
  3. A setting in action or practicing; employment in the proper mode of activity; exertion; application; use.
    • The law guarantees us the free exercise of our rights.
  4. The performance of an office, ceremony, or duty.
    • I assisted the ailing vicar in the exercise of his parish duties.

See all 12 meanings of exercise

Phrases with ex.

Questions about ex.

What is ex. the abbreviation of?
Ex. is the abbreviation of example.

Words near ex. in the dictionary

  1. ex-votos
  2. ex-wife
  3. ex-wives
  4. ex-worker
  5. ex-Yu
  6. ex.
  7. ex. gr.
  8. exa-
  9. exabit
  10. exabits
  11. exabyte

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ex. (page history and authors); example (page history and authors); exercise (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “ex..” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ex.. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.