Excess
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The state of surpassing or going beyond a limit; the state of being beyond sufficiency, necessity, or duty; more than what is usual or proper. countable, uncountable
"The excess of heavy water was given away to the neighbouring country."
- 2 excessive indulgence wordnet
- 3 The degree or amount by which one thing or number exceeds another; remainder. countable, uncountable
"The difference between two numbers is the excess of one over the other."
- 4 immoderation as a consequence of going beyond sufficient or permitted limits wordnet
- 5 An act of eating or drinking more than enough. countable, uncountable
"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 a quantity much larger than is needed wordnet
- 7 Spherical excess, the amount by which the sum of the three angles of a spherical triangle exceeds two right angles. The spherical excess is proportional to the area of the triangle. countable, uncountable
- 8 the state of being more than full wordnet
- 9 A condition on an insurance policy by which the insured pays for a part of the claim. British, countable, uncountable
- 1 To declare (an employee) surplus to requirements, such that he or she might not be given work. US, transitive
"In 2006, I was excessed because my program had to make a few cuts and a new, inexperienced supervisor decided that he couldn’t handle a knowledgeable older teacher so he removed me."
- 1 More than is normal, necessary or specified. not-comparable
- 1 more than is needed, desired, or required wordnet
Example
More examples"Don't carry anything to excess."
Etymology
From Middle English exces (“excess, ecstasy”), from Old French exces, from Latin excessus (“a going out, loss of self-possession”), from excedere, excessum (“to go out, go beyond”). See exceed.
Related phrases
More for "excess"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.