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

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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

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verb

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

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

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

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

Ahead of the book’s release, Nuzzi landed a profile and photo shoot in the New York Times and a book excerpt in Vanity Fair.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

The interweaving of the personal and the philosophical in this excerpt is being used as an expository device, to help us understand the issues that Spinoza wrote about.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• extract
• fragment
• passage
• piece
• portion
• quotation
• selection