Exhausted means so tired that nothing is left. Completely exhausted, exhausted after the journey, exhausted by it all.
It is stronger than tired and describes being used up rather than sleepy. It also describes supplies and options: the supply is exhausted, exhausted every avenue, exhausted the possibilities. That second sense is the one behind exhaust, meaning the pipe on a car that carries used gases out. Note exhausting, which describes the cause; exhaustion, the state; and exhaustive, which means covering everything and is a different word entirely.
1adjectiveexhaustedSo tired that nothing is left.
“They were exhausted by about the fourth day.”
2adjectivecompletelyCompletely used up.
“Once the gold mines were exhausted, the town was abandoned.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
exhausted is a state of being used up.
Latin
exhaustus
English
exhaust
English, today
exhausted
Built from
From exhaust + -ed. exhaust comes from Latin exhaustus. From Latin exhaustus, past participle of exhaurio (“to draw out, drink up, empty, exhaust”), from ex (“out”) + haurio (“to draw (especially water), drain”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA