WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
re•ject /v. rɪˈdʒɛkt; n. ˈridʒɛkt/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object]
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to refuse to have, take, use, recognize, etc.:to reject a job offer.
- to refuse to grant (a request, demand, etc.);
deny:The board rejected his request for a license. - to refuse to accept or admit:The other children rejected him.
- to throw aside as useless or unsatisfactory:Any misshapen pieces coming off the assembly line are rejected.
- Medicineto have a reaction against (a transplanted organ or tissue).
n. [countable]
- one that is rejected.
re•ject
(v. ri jekt′;n. rē′jekt),USA pronunciation v.t.
n.
re•ject′a•ble, adj.
re•ject′er, n.
re•jec′tive, adj.
- to refuse to have, take, recognize, etc.:to reject the offer of a better job.
- to refuse to grant (a request, demand, etc.).
- to refuse to accept (someone or something);
rebuff:The other children rejected him. The publisher rejected the author's latest novel. - to discard as useless or unsatisfactory:The mind rejects painful memories.
- to cast out or eject;
vomit. - to cast out or off.
- Medicine(of a human or other animal) to have an immunological reaction against (a transplanted organ or grafted tissue):If tissue types are not matched properly, a patient undergoing a transplant will reject the graft.
n.
- something rejected, as an imperfect article.
- Latin rējectus, past participle of rējicere to throw back, equivalent. to re- re- + jec-, combining form of jacere to throw + -tus past participle suffix
- (verb, verbal) 1485–95
re•ject′er, n.
re•jec′tive, adj.
- 1. See refuse 1. 1. 2. deny. 3. repel, renounce. 4. eliminate, jettison. 8. second.