surplus
something that remains above what is used or needed.
an amount, quantity, etc., greater than needed.
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.
Accounting.
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.
an amount of assets in excess of what is requisite to meet liabilities.
being a surplus; being in excess of what is required: surplus wheat.
Origin of surplus
1synonym study For surplus
Other words for surplus
Words that may be confused with surplus
- surplice, surplus
Words Nearby surplus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use surplus in a sentence
Far from helping to explain the southpaw surplus, the platoon effect must actually suppress the number of left-handed pitchers.
What Really Gives Left-Handed Pitchers Their Edge? | Guy Molyneux | August 17, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightI mean, don’t get me started on ethanol, because that’s the next step in reducing the surplus.
How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Ep. 386 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | August 6, 2020 | FreakonomicsJust a few months ago, states like New Mexico were talking about a huge budget surplus.
How the global oil collapse ripped a hole in US state budgets | Michael J. Coren | July 25, 2020 | QuartzCareful analysis of meteorites by Dworkin and others has found that certain “live” amino acids outnumber “evil” ones by 20% or more, a surplus they may have passed on to Earth.
Cosmic Rays May Explain Life’s Bias for Right-Handed DNA | Charlie Wood | June 29, 2020 | Quanta MagazineSuch a property would allow them to scatter with electrons at an enhanced rate, explaining the surplus of electronic recoils.
Dark Matter Experiment Finds Unexplained Signal | Natalie Wolchover | June 17, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
Scottish farmers had already been making whisky in the area for centuries with their surplus barley.
Sergei was wearing his uniform off-duty when I met him: a khaki t-shirt and a pair of army surplus pants.
In September 2013, the government reported a surplus of $75.1 billion.
This is an era of change coming thick and fast after the war, and London is a city of surplus women and new class mobility.
Sarah Waters’s New Novel Rewrites the Rules of Love | Lucy Scholes | September 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut we now have all this surplus military weaponry going to police forces.
Rory Kennedy on ‘Last Days in Vietnam,’ the Parallels Between Vietnam and Iraq, and Ferguson | Marlow Stern | September 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWe did plan a great trip—father and mother and Tim and I—we were going to England together when the farm showed a surplus.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson LloydIf there is a surplus after satisfying the mortgage debt it must be paid to the mortgagor, or, if he is dead, to his heir.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesHe even piled Cash's end of the hearth high with the surplus, after his own side was heaped full.
Cabin Fever | B. M. BowerHe thought it desirable, he continued, that a reduction of taxes should be made to the extent of this surplus.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. | E. Farr and E. H. NolanBut this surplus would be further reduced by a change which was proposed in the spirit duties.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. | E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
British Dictionary definitions for surplus
/ (ˈsɜːpləs) /
a quantity or amount in excess of what is required
accounting
an excess of total assets over total liabilities
an excess of actual net assets over the nominal value of capital stock
an excess of revenues over expenditures during a certain period of time
economics
an excess of government revenues over expenditures during a certain financial year
an excess of receipts over payments on the balance of payments
being in excess; extra
Origin of surplus
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for surplus
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.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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