excess

American  

[ik-ses, ek-ses, ek-ses, ik-ses] / ɪkˈsɛs, ˈɛk sɛs, ˈɛk sɛs, ɪkˈsɛs /

noun

• excesses
  plural

1. the fact of exceeding something else in amount or degree.

   His strength is in excess of yours.

2. the amount or degree by which one thing exceeds another.

   The bill showed an excess of several hundred dollars over the estimate.

3. an extreme or excessive amount or degree; superabundance.

   to have an excess of energy.

   Synonyms:

   surplus

   Antonyms:

   deficiency, lack

4. a going beyond what is regarded as customary or proper.

   to talk to excess.

5. immoderate indulgence; intemperance in eating, drinking, etc.

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adjective

1. more than or above what is necessary, usual, or specified; extra.

   a charge for excess baggage; excess profits.

verb (used with object)

1. to dismiss, demote, transfer, or furlough (an employee), especially as part of a mass layoff.

excess British  

noun

1. the state or act of going beyond normal, sufficient, or permitted limits

2. an immoderate or abnormal amount, number, extent, or degree too much or too many

   an excess of tolerance

3. the amount, number, extent, or degree by which one thing exceeds another

4. chem a quantity of a reagent that is greater than the quantity required to complete a reaction

   add an excess of acid

5. overindulgence or intemperance

6. insurance a specified contribution towards the cost of a claim, stipulated on certain insurance policies as being payable by the policyholder

7. of more than; over

8. to an inordinate extent; immoderately

   he drinks to excess

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adjective

1. more than normal, necessary, or permitted; surplus

   excess weight

2. payable as a result of previous underpayment

   excess postage

   an excess fare for a railway journey

excess Idioms  

1. see carry too far (to excess); in excess of.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• excesses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of excess

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (noun and adjective), from Latin excessus “departure, digression,” noun use of past participle of excēdere “to go out”; see exceed

Explanation

Excess is too much of something, like big-time overindulgence. Eating to excess makes your stomach hurt, and spending to excess means you can't pay your credit card bills. Excess comes from the Latin word excessus meaning, "go out, going beyond the bounds of reason," like eating and spending in excess. (Not so reasonable.) Although it spends most of its time as a noun, it can also be an adjective to describe "more than is required or needed," like when excess water spills over the top of the bathtub, or those excess pounds spill over the top of your jeans.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

excess excesses

In these devices, electrons are pushed into higher energy states before returning to lower ones and releasing their excess energy.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

Founded in 2018, Crusoe’s first business involved putting computing equipment near oil-and-gas sites, where it could tap excess energy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

One option would be not to rebuild some of these schools at all — given the district’s excess capacity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

It also led to excess money at the end of life — a stated goal of only 1% of the respondents.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Even in my own heart I could give no expression to my sensations—they weighed on me with a mountain’s weight and their excess destroyed my agony beneath them.

From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

Very occasionally, one will say something anodyne—border security is important, police are necessary—that implicitly criticizes the party’s wildest excesses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Gao, 70 years old, and his brother, Gao Qiang, created works that criticized the excesses of Communist Party rule in China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The label’s growing popularity presents a certain irony for a project founded partly as a critique of fashion’s excesses: Matières Fécales is now luxury fashion itself.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

The DMA came into effect in 2024 and seeks to rein in what the EU views as Big Tech's excesses in a bid to ensure fair competition in the digital realm.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

The main outline of the visible and available evidence, however, reveals a man questioning his own characteristic excesses, which had somehow put him on a course that led to the current impasse.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• exuberance
• glut
• overkill
• surplus
• waste