To eject means to force something or someone out, usually quickly or suddenly. When you press the eject button on a DVD player, a mechanism pushes the disc out. When a pilot ejects from a damaged aircraft, an explosive charge blasts the seat upward, launching the pilot clear of danger with a parachute.

The word suggests a powerful, deliberate removal rather than something just falling out naturally. A volcano ejects hot lava and ash into the sky. A baseball umpire can eject a player from the game for arguing too aggressively or breaking the rules. When your computer ejects a USB drive, it's finishing any remaining tasks and then releasing it safely for removal.

You can use eject as a noun too: the ejection of the pilot, or the ejection of a rowdy fan from the stadium. An ejection seat is that special aircraft seat designed to shoot a pilot to safety. The word implies force and speed: things that are ejected don't drift out slowly; they get pushed or thrown out with energy, whether by a machine, a person in authority, or the forces of nature.