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

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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

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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

Any excess capital loss can be carried over to future years.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

Europe, the world's fastest-warming continent, faced record-breaking temperatures, droughts and wildfires over the summer that caused tens of thousands of excess deaths.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

Their strategy involved delivering a metal catalyst into cells and using the excess carbon monoxide in cancer cells to drive a chemical reaction that produces a toxic compound.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

Meanwhile, further down the financial statements, Lee was struck by Palantir’s free cash flow, a measure of the company’s ability to generate cash in excess of what it spends on operations and equipment purchases.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

“Yes, we’re really about excess in this country,” Kimberly said.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

As a missionary, parish priest and later as bishop in northern Peru he ministered to the poor, denounced the excesses of power and lobbied for action on climate change.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

Now they also realize they “don’t want these excesses, don’t want the federal government to come in and round up everyone, especially people that don’t have a criminal past.”

From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026

After a few years in which mainstream culture at least made noises about retiring the worst excesses of early-aughts thinspo, the pendulum appears to be swinging back.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026

The UK media has long been criticised for being too intrusive, and moves have been made to curtail some of its worse excesses, while balancing the need for press freedoms.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

The subject was then considered by most professional astronomers to be at least slightly disreputable, tainted with Lowellian excesses.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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Related Words

• exuberance
• glut
• overkill
• surplus
• waste

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