definitions

exception

[ ik-sep-shuh n ]
/ ɪkˈsɛp ʃən /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exception ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of excepting or the fact of being excepted.
something excepted; an instance or case not conforming to the general rule.
an adverse criticism, especially on a particular point; opposition of opinion; objection; demurral: a statement liable to exception.
Law.
  1. an objection, as to a ruling of the court in the course of a trial.
  2. a notation that an objection is preserved for purposes of appeal: saving an exception.

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RELATED WORDS

omission, privilege, anomaly, exemption, oddity, rejection, exclusion, barring, expulsion, reservation, repudiation, debarment, deviation, freak, quirk, departure, peculiarity, dispensation, eccentricity, nonconformity

Nearby words

excementosis, except, except for, excepted, excepting, exception, exception proves the rule, the, exceptionable, exceptional, exceptionalism, exceptive

Idioms

    take exception,
    1. to make an objection; demur: They took exception to several points in the contract.
    2. to take offense: She took exception to what I said about her brother.

Origin of exception

1350–1400; Middle English excepcioun < Latin exceptiōn (stem of exceptiō), equivalent to except(us) (see except1) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms

ex·cep·tion·less, adjectivepre·ex·cep·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for exception

British Dictionary definitions for exception

exception

/ (ɪkˈsɛpʃən) /

noun

the act of excepting or fact of being excepted; omission
anything excluded from or not in conformance with a general rule, principle, class, etc
criticism, esp when it is adverse; objection
law (formerly) a formal objection in the course of legal proceedings
law a clause or term in a document that restricts the usual legal effect of the document
take exception
  1. (usually foll by to) to make objections (to); demur (at)
  2. (often foll by at) to be offended (by); be resentful (at)
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

Idioms and Phrases with exception

exception

In addition to the idioms beginning with exception

  • exception proves the rule, the

also see:

  • except for (with the exception of)
  • make an exception
  • take exception to
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.