except

1
[ ik-sept ]
See synonyms for: exceptexceptedexcepting on Thesaurus.com

preposition
  1. with the exclusion of; excluding; save; but: They were all there except me.

conjunction
  1. only; with the exception (usually followed by that): parallel cases except that one is younger than the other.

  2. otherwise than; but (followed by an adv., phrase, or clause): well fortified except here.

  1. Archaic. unless.

Idioms about except

  1. except for, if it were not for: She would travel more except for lack of money.

Origin of except

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: originally, past participle, from Latin exceptus (past participle of excipere “to take out”), equivalent to ex- + -ceptus (combining form of captus, past participle of capere “to take”); see origin at ex-1

synonym study For except

1. Except (more rarely excepting ), but, save point out something excluded from a general statement. Except emphasizes the excluding: Take any number except 12. But merely states the exclusion: We ate all but one. Save is now mainly found in poetic use: nothing in sight save sky and sea.

Words Nearby except

Other definitions for except (2 of 2)

except2
[ ik-sept ]

verb (used with object)
  1. to exclude from or leave out of a particular category: Surveys that are used exclusively for certain educational purposes are excepted from these requirements.

verb (used without object)
  1. to object (usually followed by to or against): to except to a statement;to except against a witness.

Origin of except

2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English excepten, from Middle French excepter, from Latin exceptāre, derivative of exceptus (see except1)

confusables note For except

See accept.

Other words from except

  • ex·cept·a·ble, adjective
  • un·ex·cept·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use except in a sentence

  • In fact, except for Ramona's help, it would have been a question whether even Alessandro could have made Baba work in harness.

    Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
  • I haven't much time for seeing any one, except my patients, and the people I meet in society.

    Bella Donna | Robert Hichens
  • The patriarchal decree of the government was a good deal of a joke on the plains, anyway—except when you were caught defying it!

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • The camp grew still, except for the rough and ready cook pottering about the fire, boiling buffalo-meat and mixing biscuit-dough.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • Who he could not make out, except that it was a Kirton: and it prayed him to hasten down immediately.

    Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for except

except

/ (ɪkˈsɛpt) /


preposition
  1. Also: except for other than; apart from; with the exception of: he likes everyone except you; except for this mistake, you did very well

  2. except that (conjunction) but for the fact that; were it not true that

conjunction
  1. an archaic word for unless

  2. informal except that; but for the fact that: I would have arrived earlier, except I lost my way

verb
  1. (tr) to leave out; omit; exclude

  2. (intr often foll by to) rare to take exception; object

Origin of except

1
C14: from Old French excepter to leave out, from Latin exceptāre, from excipere to take out, from capere to take

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012