surplus

American  

[sur-pluhs, -pluhs] / ˈsɜr plʌs, -pləs /

noun

• surpluses
  plural

1. something that remains above what is used or needed.

   Synonyms:

   superabundance

2. an amount, quantity, etc., greater than needed.

3. agricultural produce or a quantity of food grown by a nation or area in excess of its needs, especially such a quantity of food purchased and stored by a governmental program of guaranteeing farmers a specific price for certain crops.

4. Accounting.

   1. the excess of assets over liabilities accumulated throughout the existence of a business, excepting assets against which stock certificates have been issued; excess of net worth over capital-stock value.

   2. an amount of assets in excess of what is requisite to meet liabilities.

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adjective

1. being a surplus; being in excess of what is required.

   surplus wheat.

verb (used with object)

surplussed, surplused, surplussing, surplusing

1. to treat as surplus; sell off; retire.

   The government surplussed some of its desert lands.

surplus British  

/ ˈsɜːpləs /

noun

1. a quantity or amount in excess of what is required

2. accounting

   1. an excess of total assets over total liabilities

   2. an excess of actual net assets over the nominal value of capital stock

   3. an excess of revenues over expenditures during a certain period of time

3. economics

   1. an excess of government revenues over expenditures during a certain financial year

   2. an excess of receipts over payments on the balance of payments

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adjective

1. being in excess; extra

surplus Cultural  

1. An unsold quantity of a good resulting from a lack of equilibrium in a market. For example, if a price is artificially high, sellers will bring more goods to the market than buyers will be willing to buy. (Compare shortage.)

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Synonym Usage

See remainder.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• surpluses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of surplus

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Old French surplus, s(o)urplus, from Medieval Latin superplūs, equivalent to super- preposition and prefix + plūs neuter noun; see origin at super-, plus

Explanation

A surplus is something extra or left over. If your tree produces more apples than you can eat, you can make applesauce with the surplus of apples. The army surplus store sells old or out-of-date clothing and equipment that the military doesn't need. If you earn more money than you spend, then you have a surplus of cash. The word surplus has familiar parts: sur- is a shortened form of super, meaning "extra" or "additional," and plus just means "more."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

surplus surpluses surplused

The fear of becoming surplus to requirements because of advancements in AI is one shared by millions of workers, but are AI recruitment tools posing a specific threat to women trying to return to employment?

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

That narrowed Canada’s longstanding surplus with its biggest trading partner to C$9.98 billion from C$11.12 billion a month earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Skubal joins Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani as postseason rotation options, creating an enviable surplus if all five are healthy in October.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Japan runs the biggest current account surplus in the whole G-7 which should, in theory, be supportive of the currency.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

“A major manufacturer of androids,” he said thoughtfully, “invests its surplus capital on living animals.”

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

The Congressional Budget Office in January 2001 predicted such large future budget surpluses that it said all redeemable U.S. government debt could be paid off within five years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Because Jamaica ran sizable primary fiscal surpluses for more than a decade, halving its government debt-to-GDP ratio from 140% in 2012 to 62% in 2024.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

At the finance department, Tännler has presided over fiscal surpluses averaging more than 300 million francs a year over the past five years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Prabowo himself has come under fire over the programme, especially for its hefty price tag at a time when Indonesia is grappling with dwindling trade surpluses and a weak currency.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

But tribal societies without intensive food production have no employment for slaves and do not produce large enough food surpluses to be able to yield much tribute.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

The city has been prioritizing the use of surplused land for “low-income housing” for several years.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 20, 2023

Next he built a telecom infrastructure company — MK Global — that ”secured the rights to a $1 billion in equipment surplused in the wake of the dot-com crash.”

From Forbes ● Sep. 19, 2011

He couldn't look like that surplused boy, though.

From Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley by Maniates, Belle Kanaris

Consequently the neighborhood was notified that a sacred concert by a "surplused choir" composed of members of the Jenkins household, assisted by a few of their schoolmates, would be given a week from Wednesday night.

From Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley by Maniates, Belle Kanaris

Related Words

• excess
• leftover
• unused