exception

American  

[ik-sep-shuhn] / ɪkˈsɛp ʃən /

noun

1. the act of excepting or the fact of being excepted.

2. something excepted; an instance or case not conforming to the general rule.

3. an adverse criticism, especially on a particular point; opposition of opinion; objection; demurral.

   a statement liable to exception.

4. 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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idioms

1. 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.

exception British  

/ ɪkˈsɛpʃən /

noun

1. the act of excepting or fact of being excepted; omission

2. anything excluded from or not in conformance with a general rule, principle, class, etc

3. criticism, esp when it is adverse; objection

4. law (formerly) a formal objection in the course of legal proceedings

5. law a clause or term in a document that restricts the usual legal effect of the document

6. 1. (usually foll by to) to make objections (to); demur (at)

   2. (often foll by at) to be offended (by); be resentful (at)

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exception More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing exception

• except for (with the exception of)
• make an exception
• take exception to

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Other Word Forms

• exceptionless
  adjective
• preexception
  noun

Etymology

Origin of exception

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English excepcioun, from Latin exceptiōn-, stem of exceptiō; equivalent to except ¹ + -ion

Explanation

An exception is something that is left out or not done on purpose. An exception to a rule does not follow that rule. This word is used for all sorts of things that are not usual or usually allowed. The saying ”i before e except after c,” is about an exception to a spelling rule. If you run every day but take Saturdays off, you're making an exception. If your teacher punishes you for being late even though you have an excuse, she might say, "I'm sorry, but I can't make an exception." When you see exception, think "Something different than usual is happening."

Example Sentences

The one exception was when, at a campaign rally on Saturday, Massie took a shot at Gallrein’s support, joking that he’d been given a way to contact Gallrein for a potential concession speech.

From Slate • May 19, 2026

For the last half-century, public approval of Congress has consistently been low; with the exception of a few spikes in approval, such as after 9/11, congressional approval ratings rarely rise above the teens.

From Salon • May 18, 2026

After accounting for those features, humans no longer appeared to be such an evolutionary exception.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

“All customer-facing interfaces are already integrated today–with the exception of North Atlantic flights, where, as is well known, regulatory approval for our merger is still pending,” Deutsche Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

As we have seen, eponymy in geography is very rare before the naming of America, and America remained an exception in being named after a commoner.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• anomaly
• exemption
• oddity
• privilege