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excerpt

American  
[ek-surpt, ik-surpt] / ˈɛk sɜrpt, ɪkˈsɜrpt /

noun

  1. a passage or quotation taken or selected from a book, document, film, or the like; extract.

    Synonyms:
    part, section, portion, selection

verb (used with object)

  1. to take or select (a passage) from a book, film, or the like; extract.

  2. to take or select passages from (a book, film, or the like); abridge by choosing representative sections.

excerpt British  

noun

  1. a part or passage taken from a book, speech, play, etc, and considered on its own; extract

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to take (a part or passage) from a book, speech, play, etc

"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

Other Word Forms

  • excerpter noun
  • excerptible adjective
  • excerption noun
  • excerptor noun
  • unexcerpted adjective

Etymology

Origin of excerpt

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin excerptus “picked out,” past participle of excerpere “to pick out, pluck out,” from ex- ex- 1 + -cerpere, combining form of carpere “to pluck”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In an excerpt from his new memoir, ‘Generation Desperation,’ writer Alexander Hurst explains the anxieties that led him into the meme-stock world of WallStreetBets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

During the event, Gumbley read an excerpt of Laurence Binyon's poem For The Fallen and later met the King at a reception for VJ veterans and their families.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

An excerpt from their conversation, below, has been edited for length and clarity.

From Slate • Jan. 20, 2026

Yerlikaya shared a video excerpt in which the security forces raided several suspects' homes, some of whom could be seen with their hands cuffed behind their backs.

From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025

An excerpt of Elizabeth Bentley's testimony before HUAC, in which she answers questions about Nathan Silvermaster, her main contact in Washington, DC, from Congressman John E. Rankin of Mississippi.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.