Grexit

G2R1E1X8I1T1
/ˈɡɹɛɡ.zɪt//ˈɡɹɛk.sɪt/

proper noun

The potential withdrawal of Greece from the Eurozone.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

proper noun
  1. governmentThe potential withdrawal of Greece from the Eurozone.

    Throughout 2012, economists speculated on the likelihood of the Grexit by 2013.

    2013, Words You Should Know: 2013, F+W Media, page 100
    5 more examples

    We raise our estimate of the likelihood of Greek EA exit (‘Grexit’) to 50% over the next 18 months, from 25-30% previously. This is mostly because we consider the willingness of EA creditors to continue providing further support to Greece despite Greek non-compliance with programme conditionality to have fallen substantially.

    2012 February 6, Willem Buiter, Ebrahim Rahbari, “Rising Risks of Greek Euro Area Exit”, in Willem H. Buiter, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2016

    Citigroup economists Willem Buiter and Ebrahim Rabhari revised their predictions of a Greek exit from the eurozone—or "Grexit"—in the next 18 months up to 50 percent from 25-30 percent in November.

    2012 February 7, Simone Foxman, “CITI'S BUITER: There's A 50% Chance Of A Greek Exit From The Eurozone And Here's How It Would Happen”, in Business Insider

    The bankers, however, were alarmingly precise: amid all the speculation about Grexit, they told me, banks are increasingly reordering their European exposure along national lines, in terms of asset-liability matching (ALM), just in case the region splits apart.

    2012 May 25, Gillian Tett, “Beware Hidden Costs as Banks Eye ‘Grexit’”, in Financial Times

    Around the middle of 2012, speculation was rife about the likelihood of the so-called Grexit.

    2014, Alison McDonnell, “Solidarity, Flexibility, and the Euro-Crisis: Where do Principles Fit In?”, in The EU After Lisbon, page 72

    Grexit, in short, would have left the way open to German monetary independence.

    2014, Jonathan Story, “The Euro Crisis and German Primacy”, in The Eurozone Crisis and the Future of Europe, page 117

Origin

Blend of Greece + exit or Greek + exit. Note that the term is attested prior to Brexit.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Grexit

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

Grexit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Grexit

MLA

“Grexit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Grexit. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Grexit,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Grexit.

Source: Grexit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.