# surplus

Pronunciation: US say "SUR-plus" /ˈsɝˌplʌs/; UK say "SUR-pluhs" /ˈsɜːpləs/

## Noun

1. The amount that remains once a need or limit has been met; an excess.
   - Simple: The amount left over after you have used all you need.
   - _A mild winter left the city with a surplus of road salt._
   - _The bakery donated its daily surplus to a nearby shelter._
3. An amount in the public treasury that is greater than the government needs for its ordinary expenses.
   - Simple: Money the government has left after paying for everything it needs.
   - _The treasury reported a surplus after revenues exceeded the year's spending._
   - _Lawmakers argued over how to use the unexpected surplus._
4. The assets that remain after a company's liabilities, debts, and capital stock have been subtracted.
   - Simple: The money or property a company has left after paying all it owes.
   - _Auditors calculated the surplus left after all liabilities and capital stock were deducted._
   - _The board voted to reinvest the surplus rather than issue dividends._
5. The amount left over from a fund that was set aside for a particular purpose.
   - Simple: The money left over from an amount set aside for a special use.
   - _The committee returned the surplus from the relief fund to its donors._
   - _Once the road was built, a small surplus remained in the appropriation._

## Adjective

2. Being more than is needed or used; constituting an excess.
   - Simple: Extra, or more than is needed or used.
   - _Volunteers gathered surplus produce from farms to redistribute it._
   - _The store cleared out its surplus stock with a weekend sale._

## Verb

6. To treat people or things as surplus to requirements, as by selling off property or dismissing employees from their jobs.
   - Simple: To get rid of things or workers that are no longer needed, by selling them or letting them go.
   - _Managers often surplus equipment that no longer meets safety standards._
   - _When the construction contract ended, the remaining engineers were surplused and flown home._

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English surplus, which was taken from Middle French surplus (compare modern French surplus).

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