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definitions

except

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preposition

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

conjunction

only; with the exception (usually followed by that): parallel cases except that one is younger than the other.
otherwise than; but (followed by an adv., phrase, or clause): well fortified except here.
Archaic. unless.

Idioms

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

Origin of except

1
1350–1400; Middle English: orig., past participle adj. < Latin exceptus (past participle of excipere to take out), equivalent to ex- ex-1 + -ceptus (combining form of captus, past participle of capere to take)

Synonym study

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.

except

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verb (used with object)

to exclude; leave out: present company excepted.

verb (used without object)

to object (usually followed by to or against): to except to a statement; to except against a witness.

Origin of except

2
1350–1400; Middle English excepten < Middle French excepter < Latin exceptāre, derivative of exceptus (see except1)
Related formsex·cept·a·ble, adjectivenon·ex·cept·ed, adjectiveun·ex·cept·a·ble, adjectiveun·ex·cept·ed, adjective

Usage note

See accept.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for except

save, exclude, barring, saving, lacking, omitting, bar, excluding, excepting, bate, object, exempt, omit, expostulate, disallow, protest, suspend, eliminate, reject, ban

Examples from the Web for except

Contemporary Examples of except

Historical Examples of except

  • I have no evidence, except your word, that any such letter has been received.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • There was none to speak of left now except in Africa; and they were pessimistic about Africa.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Except for a very few words we do not know what sort of tongue it was.

    Ancient Man

    Hendrik Willem van Loon

  • She says very little in the way of thanks, except to the Giver of all good.

  • You know I do not care about money, except just to buy my clothes and things.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

British Dictionary definitions for except

except

preposition

Also: except for other than; apart from; with the exception ofhe likes everyone except you; except for this mistake, you did very well
except that (conjunction) but for the fact that; were it not true that

conjunction

an archaic word for unless
informal except that; but for the fact thatI would have arrived earlier, except I lost my way

verb

(tr) to leave out; omit; exclude
(intr often foll by to) rare to take exception; object

Word Origin for except

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
Word Origin and History for except
v.

late 14c., "to receive," from Middle French excepter (12c.), from Latin exceptus, past participle of excipere "take out," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + capere "to take" (see capable). Meaning "to leave out" is from 1510s. Related: Excepted; excepting. Adjectival function led to use as a preposition, conjunction (late 14c.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper