make an exception

Idioms  

1. Exempt someone or something from a general rule or practice, as in Because it's your birthday, I'll make an exception and let you stay up as late as you want. This expression was first recorded about 1391.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

make an exception

He said Jones "would be the last person in the world to want a statue of him" but would "make an exception" for this design as "I think he'd find it very funny indeed".

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

“And if they make an exception without a rationale, that’s not flexibility. That’s a lack of structure or a growth strategy.”

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 10, 2026

But we’ll make an exception for the shoe story, a genuine delight in an otherwise gloomy news world.

From Slate ● Mar. 14, 2026

Retiree Werner Strub agreed that "the conditions are so unusual that you can make an exception, because hospitals are full of people with fractures."

From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026

The clerk then explained that I had inadvertently been given a seat not normally allowed to visitors, but in this case it was an honor for them to make an exception.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela