except

[ ik-sept ]

/ ɪkˈsɛpt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR except ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

Origin of except

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

Examples from the Web for excepted

He then added, unhelpfully, “All English writers are the same; Walter Scott excepted, all lack a plot.”
The Birth of the Novel|Nick Romeo|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Republicans are going to oppose it to a person (well, Mark Kirk excepted, maybe).
Ralph Nader Has Truly Lost It|Michael Tomasky|July 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Today he is claimed like no other 20th-century writer—Orwell not excepted—by both sides of the political spectrum.
Still Cool Camus|Allen Barra|January 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The custom seems, however, more prevalent than in any part of India where I have been, the vicinity of Calcutta excepted.
An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal|Fancis Buchanan Hamilton

He eyed them for a moment; not suspiciously, but with anger at everything in the universe—themselves, perhaps, excepted.
Where the Souls of Men are Calling|Credo Harris
Truly it was the magnificent Madam's fate to be admired by the "so-leetle" men—her husband not excepted.
The Mission of Janice Day|Helen Beecher Long
But when he saith, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him.
The Bible Story|Rev. Newton Marshall Hall
The zeal of the royalists soon caused the Crown lands to be excepted.
Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II, Volume II|Henry Hallam

British Dictionary definitions for excepted

except

/ (ɪkˈsɛpt) /

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 excepted

except

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.).