except

¹ American  

[ik-sept] / ɪkˈsɛpt /

preposition

1. with the exclusion of; excluding; save; but.

   They were all there except me.

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conjunction

1. only; with the exception (usually followed bythat ).

   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.

3. Archaic. unless.

idioms

1. except for, if it were not for.

   She would travel more except for lack of money.

except ² American  

[ik-sept] / ɪkˈsɛpt /

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.

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verb (used without object)

1. to object (usually followed by to oragainst ).

   to except to a statement;

   to except against a witness.

except British  

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

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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. rare to take exception; object

Usage

What’s the difference between except and accept? Except is most commonly used as a preposition meaning excluding or but, as in Everyone was invited except me, or as a conjunction meaning but for the fact that, as in I would have called, except I lost my phone. Accept is a common word with many meanings, most of which involve receiving something, taking something on, or putting up with something.Accept is always a verb. Except can also be used as a verb meaning to exclude, as in the common phrase present company excepted, but its verb use is much less common.To remember the difference in the spelling between accept and except, remember that except shares the prefix ex- with exclude, which is fitting since except is commonly used in situations in which someone or something has been excluded.Accept, on the other hand, is often used in situations in which something is acquired.Here’s an example of except and accept used correctly in the same sentence.Example: I usually accept your excuses, except this time I know they’re not true.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between except and accept.

Commonly Confused

See accept.

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• exceptable adjective
• unexceptable adjective

Etymology

Origin of except¹

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”); ex- ¹

Origin of except²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English excepten, from Middle French excepter, from Latin exceptāre, derivative of exceptus ( except ¹ )

Example Sentences

All those players except Gianna Kneepkens were with the squad last season to see firsthand what went wrong.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

Everything went perfectly that day - except for his half-time interview, which left French broadcasters perplexed.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

All of xAI’s co-founders, except Elon Musk, have reportedly left the company, which Musk said was “not built right.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

A row of seats turns into the economy version of a lie-flat bed, except with stuffies for kids instead of fancy amenity kits with designer skin care.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

This did not pose a problem except that as soon as I hooked the dogs up and got them lined out—I was running an eight-dog team— my head lamp went out.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• save