How to Use exert in a Sentence

exert

verb
  • 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.
  • Once the seed has sprouted, some seedlings are able to exert enough force to push through the fine opening in the asphalt.
    — Melinda Myers, Journal Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2024
  • But Jansen didn’t need to exert much effort for his 13th save.
    — Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2021
  • The system may be the center of the universe, but the stars exert a gravity of their own.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2023
  • The strength of the mind’s eye may exert a subtle influence over the course of people’s lives.
    — New York Times, 8 June 2021
  • The thruster’s two hydraulic cylinders will exert force on the clamp, pushing the pipe and MTBM through the mountain.
    — Arkansas Online, 17 July 2022
  • That is about 10 times the pressure that is exerted at the bottom of the ocean’s deepest trenches.
    — Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2023
  • But Valdez also knows how and when to pull back and exert pointed restraint.
    — Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2024
  • This means that light shining on an object can exert a force.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 10 Apr. 2023
  • The winds will exert a chill, so dress for winter even as sunshine pushes highs above 50 for most.
    — Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
  • In classical mechanics, the Sun exerts a force on the Earth equal in magnitude to the force that the Earth exerts back on the Sun.
    — Larry M. Silverberg, Discover Magazine, 8 Dec. 2023
  • The high gears, however, came up a bit short, as there was no way to pedal fast enough to exert force when the assist was maxed out.
    — John Timmer, Ars Technica, 15 Dec. 2023
  • In the end, the debate highlights, once more, how much control Musk can exert over public goods, Lewandowsky says.
    — Bykai Kupferschmidt, science.org, 8 Feb. 2023
  • The Celtics, 76ers, and Knicks were banking on the Bucks having to exert effort in that series before moving on to the second round.
    — Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023
  • In China, public homage to the dead often serves as a method of last resort to exert pressure on the living.
    — Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2022
  • The new study suggests the forces that Earth exerted on the moon would have led to widespread upheaval and intense heating.
    — Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 18 Dec. 2024
  • Whatever the place or situation, the old life has to exert a pull on the leaver or the leaving means little.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 27 Apr. 2025
  • The problem was the Lakers getting down 10-0 in the first quarter and then having to exert a lot of energy and effort to get back in the game.
    — Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2021
  • The exam also found the injuries were not consistent with child-sized hands or the level of force a child could exert.
    — Erik S. Hanley, Journal Sentinel, 9 July 2024
  • Manchin was critical of the effort employed to exert pressure on him; Sinema did weigh in at the time.
    — Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Arizona Republic, 16 June 2021
  • Well, hypertension constricts the blood vessels, and this causes the blood to exert more pressure on the artery walls.
    — Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2023
  • The legal question hinges on the extent of control the U.S. government still exerts over the detainees.
    — Sonam Sheth gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025
  • Who is this person who exerts this kind of pressure intensely on the people around him?
    — CBS News, 30 July 2023
  • For now, Trump is in charge and exerting his power and influence.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Those victims had to exert pressure on the powerful to act, trust and confide in the legal process and share their stories.
    — Matthias Katsch, CNN, 27 Jan. 2022
  • Through her tale, Carr depicts the ways in which women can care for and exert power over one another.
    — The New Yorker, 12 June 2024
  • Through her tale, Carr depicts the ways in which women can care for and exert power over one another.
    — The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
  • Eventually, the sun's gravity exerted a stronger pull on the moon.
    — Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 8 May 2025
  • The drone dips its rear end at the same time, allowing the air-catching wings to exert maximum stopping force via aerodynamic drag.
    — Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 25 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'exert.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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