# exception

Pronunciation: US say "uhk-SEP-shuhn" /əkˈsɛpʃən/; UK say "ik-SEP-shuhn" /ɪkˈsɛpʃən/

## Noun

1. A person, thing, or case that is excluded or treated as distinct, not included in a general rule or statement.
   - Simple: Someone or something that a rule or statement does not include or apply to.
   - _Nearly every mammal gives birth to live young; the platypus is a famous exception._
   - _With a few exceptions, the new policy applies to all employees._
2. The act of excluding or leaving out something that would otherwise be included in a class, statement, or rule.
   - Simple: The act of leaving someone or something out of a rule or group.
   - _The ban applies to all imported produce, with the exception of dried fruit._
   - _Safety rules on the site are enforced without exception, regardless of seniority._
3. An objection or expression of dissent; a feeling of offense, or something that causes offense.
   - Simple: A complaint, or a feeling of being upset or annoyed by something.
   - _Several board members took exception to the chairman's dismissive tone._
   - _Many readers took exception to the columnist's portrayal of small towns._
4. An event, usually an error, that disrupts a program's normal flow and can be signaled ("thrown") in one part of the code and dealt with ("caught") in another.
   - Simple: In a computer program, an error signal that stops normal work so another part can handle it.
   - _The function throws an exception when it receives a negative input._
   - _Unhandled exceptions caused the server to restart several times overnight._
5. An objection raised on legal grounds; also, in conveyancing, a clause by which the grantor reserves or excludes something before transferring the right.
   - Simple: In law, a complaint about a judge's decision, or words in a sale that let the seller keep something.
   - _Defense counsel took exception to the court's ruling on the disputed testimony._
   - _The deed contained an exception reserving mineral rights to the original owner._

## Origin

This word came through Middle English and Old French from the Latin 'exceptiō'. It is equivalent to 'except' plus the suffix '-ion'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/exception (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).