surplus

American  

[sur-pluhs, -pluhs] / ˈsɜr plʌs, -pləs /

noun

• surpluses
  plural

1. 

   something that remains above what is used or needed.

   Synonyms:

   superabundance

2. an amount, quantity, etc., greater than needed.

3. agricultural produce or a quantity of food grown by a nation or area in excess of its needs, especially such a quantity of food purchased and stored by a governmental program of guaranteeing farmers a specific price for certain crops.

4. Accounting.

   1. the excess of assets over liabilities accumulated throughout the existence of a business, excepting assets against which stock certificates have been issued; excess of net worth over capital-stock value.

   2. an amount of assets in excess of what is requisite to meet liabilities.

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adjective

1. being a surplus; being in excess of what is required.

   surplus wheat.

verb (used with object)

surplussed, surplused, surplussing, surplusing

1. to treat as surplus; sell off; retire.

   The government surplussed some of its desert lands.

surplus British  

/ ˈsɜːpləs /

noun

1. a quantity or amount in excess of what is required

2. accounting

   1. an excess of total assets over total liabilities

   2. an excess of actual net assets over the nominal value of capital stock

   3. an excess of revenues over expenditures during a certain period of time

3. economics

   1. an excess of government revenues over expenditures during a certain financial year

   2. an excess of receipts over payments on the balance of payments

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adjective

1. being in excess; extra

surplus Cultural  

1. An unsold quantity of a good resulting from a lack of equilibrium in a market. For example, if a price is artificially high, sellers will bring more goods to the market than buyers will be willing to buy. (Compare shortage.)

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Synonym Usage

See remainder.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• surpluses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of surplus

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Old French surplus, s(o)urplus, from Medieval Latin superplūs, equivalent to super- preposition and prefix + plūs neuter noun; see origin at super-, plus

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Explanation

A surplus is something extra or left over. If your tree produces more apples than you can eat, you can make applesauce with the surplus of apples. The army surplus store sells old or out-of-date clothing and equipment that the military doesn't need. If you earn more money than you spend, then you have a surplus of cash. The word surplus has familiar parts: sur- is a shortened form of super, meaning "extra" or "additional," and plus just means "more."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

surplus surpluses surplused

When the body does not use the glucose it absorbs, the surplus can eventually be converted into fat.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

The surplus was 35 Bcf the previous week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

The International Monetary Fund forecasts South Korea's annual current account surplus will reach $421.9 billion this year, the second-largest among 190 economies after China.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

U.S. natural gas futures settled a little higher for the first time in five sessions as a weekly inventory report landed in line with market expectations, further shrinking the storage surplus over the five-year average.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

A stored food surplus built up by taxation can support other full-time specialists besides kings and bureaucrats.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

The country recorded a $116.6 billion current account surplus in the second quarter, surpassing the combined surpluses of manufacturing powerhouses Germany and Japan for the first time since comparable records began in 1996.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

It’s worth noting that with the boom in commodity prices in 2026 Brazil is posting massive trade surpluses every month.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

In 2001, after four straight years of budget surpluses, the CBO released a 10-year forecast projecting that the national debt would be eliminated by 2009.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The country has now racked up surpluses four straight months, following May’s downwardly revised C$3.7 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

By enabling farmers to generate food surpluses, food production permitted farming societies to support full-time craft specialists who did not grow their own food and who developed technologies.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

The city has been prioritizing the use of surplused land for “low-income housing” for several years.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 20, 2023

Next he built a telecom infrastructure company — MK Global — that ”secured the rights to a $1 billion in equipment surplused in the wake of the dot-com crash.”

From Forbes ● Sep. 19, 2011

He couldn't look like that surplused boy, though.

From Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley by Belle Kanaris Maniates

Consequently the neighborhood was notified that a sacred concert by a "surplused choir" composed of members of the Jenkins household, assisted by a few of their schoolmates, would be given a week from Wednesday night.

From Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley by Belle Kanaris Maniates

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Related Words

• excess
• leftover
• unused

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