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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

excess.

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.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈɛksɛs//ɪkˈsɛs//ɛkˈsɛs//əkˈsɛs/
  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.
    I leaped up in an excess of enthusiasm.
  2. 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.
  3. An act of eating or drinking more than enough.

    countable · uncountable
  4. 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
  5. A condition on an insurance policy by which the insured pays for a part of the claim.

    UK · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

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.

adj/ˈɛksɛs//ɪkˈsɛs//ɛkˈsɛs//əkˈsɛs/
  1. More than is normal, necessary or specified.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

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.

verb/ˈɛksɛs//ɪkˈsɛs//ɛkˈsɛs//əkˈsɛs/
  1. To declare (an employee) surplus to requirements, such that he or she might not be given work.

    US · transitive
Where this word comes from

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.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.