excelsior
1 Americannoun
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fine wood shavings, used for stuffing, packing, etc.
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Printing. a 3-point type: a size smaller than brilliant.
adjective
interjection
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excellent: used as a motto and as a trademark for various products, esp in the US for fine wood shavings used for packing breakable objects
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upwards
Usage
What else does excelsior mean? Excelsior is a Latin word translated into English as a motto meaning "Ever upward!"Marvel comics legend Stan Lee, who helped create such iconic characters as Spider-Man and the Hulk, famously used Excelsior! as his catchphrase.
Etymology
Origin of excelsior
An Americanism dating back to 1770–80; formerly a trademark
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Aspen Wood Products has rebuilt the mill destroyed by fire in Mancos, and the plant is again producing excelsior products from locally logged aspen.
From Washington Times • Mar. 8, 2020
A high coherence in gene length was found between F. excelsior and M. guttatus: r > 0.917.
From Nature • Dec. 25, 2016
F. excelsior sequences are shown in blue; A. thaliana sequences in red.
From Nature • Dec. 25, 2016
Each Pet Rock came in a cardboard carrying case, complete with air holes, tenderly nestled on a bed of excelsior.
From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2015
That head: Bald for most of its surface, trimmed at bottom with a tangled white beard, it resembled an ivory Christmas ball resting on a bed of excelsior.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
