excerpt
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to take or select (a passage) from a book, film, or the like; extract.
-
to take or select passages from (a book, film, or the like); abridge by choosing representative sections.
noun
verb
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. 4, 2026
An excerpt of our conversation, below, has been edited and condensed for clarity.
From Slate • Mar. 4, 2026
This article is an excerpt from “Amazon and 9 More Stocks to Buy for 2026,” published on Dec. 12, 2025.
From Barron's • Dec. 27, 2025
The excerpt shares how Davis’ mother came west from Louisiana during the Great Migration, a Black Creole who arrived in Los Angeles in 1945.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025
Here's an excerpt: I’m so incredibly proud of you.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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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.