excess
Pluralexcesses
Verbexcesses, excessing, excessed
Pluralexcesses
Formsexcesses, excessing, excessed
- 1More of something than is needed or right.
Like a cup filled until the water spills over the edge.
He ate to excess at the party and felt sick afterward.
An excess of sugar can slowly harm your teeth.
Similarsurplus, superabundance, overage
Oppositeshortage, lack, deficiency
Note
- 2Being more than what is needed, normal, or asked for.
Like having more chairs than guests at a table.
We gave away the excess food after the party ended.
The store sent its excess stock back to the warehouse.
Similarsurplus
- 3How much more one amount is than another.
Like how much taller one child is than another standing beside them.
The excess of one team's score over the other was just three points.
Any excess left after the costs are paid goes back to you.
Similarsurplus, difference, remainder, balance
- 4Eating or drinking much more than you need.
Like eating so much candy that your stomach starts to hurt.
After the holiday excess, she felt too full to move.
A night of excess left him with a pounding headache the next day.
Similaroverindulgence, gluttony, intemperance, indulgence, immoderation
Oppositemoderation, restraint, temperance, abstinence
Note
- 5The part of an insurance claim that you must pay yourself.
Like paying the first part of a bill yourself before someone else covers the rest.
Her car insurance had a £200 excess she had to pay first.
We chose a higher excess to lower the monthly premium.
Similardeductible
Note
- 6To tell a worker that their job is no longer needed.
Like a school telling a teacher there is no longer a class for them to teach.
The district had to excess several teachers when the budget was cut.
They excessed two clerks after the office merged with another branch.
Note
- 7The amount by which a triangle drawn on a sphere has angles adding up to more than a flat one.
Like how a triangle drawn on a beach ball looks puffed out next to one on flat paper.
The excess of the large spherical triangle was easy to see on the globe.
A tiny triangle on the Earth has almost no excess at all.
Note
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Latin excessus, meaning a going out or beyond, from excedere "to go beyond." It reached English through Old French.