excuse-me
noun
a dance in which a person may take another's partner
Jump To:
-
excuse-me
-
excuse me
excuse me
Also, I beg your pardon, pardon me . Forgive me, as in Excuse me, please let me pass , or Pardon me for asking , or I beg your pardon, I don't think so . These phrases are used as an apology for interrupting a conversation, bumping into someone, asking a speaker to repeat something, politely disagreeing with something said, and so on. The first dates from about 1600, the first variant from about 1800, the second from the mid-1700s.
excuse-me
Britishnoun
excuse me
Idioms
-
Also, I beg your pardon, pardon me . Forgive me, as in Excuse me, please let me pass , or Pardon me for asking , or I beg your pardon, I don't think so . These phrases are used as an apology for interrupting a conversation, bumping into someone, asking a speaker to repeat something, politely disagreeing with something said, and so on. The first dates from about 1600, the first variant from about 1800, the second from the mid-1700s.
-
Also, excuse oneself . Allow or ask to leave or be released from an obligation. For example, Please excuse me, I have to leave now , or I asked the judge to excuse me from jury duty . [1920s]
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.
See Examples For:
After starting Lewis, his first batter, with a wild cutter that sent catcher Will Smith sprawling behind the plate, Henriquez executed a better one on the outside corner to induce an excuse-me swing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2025
Here’s where nerds barge in with the ground rules: excuse me, that’s definitely an out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
But the giant technology companies are now greedily raising as much money as they can from suckers — excuse me, investors — to keep spending on the AI arms race.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Similarly, after one contestant told her "don't start," she said in the diary room: "I didn't start it, but I'll bloody finish it - excuse me saying bloody."
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2025
Oh, excuse me: It makes me want to engage in an involuntary, partially liquid protein spill.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2024
“If you’ll excuse me, I have a letter to write.”
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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.
