surplusage
Americannoun
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law (in pleading, etc) irrelevant matter, such as a superfluous allegation
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an excess of words
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a less common word for surplus
Etymology
Origin of surplusage
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at surplus, -age
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.
In discussing the 14th Amendment, Mr. Barnett fairly shows that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” isn’t empty surplusage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Some of that surplusage is sold by private surplus retailers.
From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2024
But “our preference for avoiding surplusage constructions is not absolute.”
From MSNBC ● Jun. 25, 2015
Therefore, argues Mr. Hurja, Roosevelt is certain of re-election and any states he carries in the Northeast will be surplusage.
From Time Magazine Archive
Surplus nerve energy.—However it may be achieved, the thing to work for in this connection is a surplusage of nerve energy.
From Farm Boys and Girls by McKeever, William Arch
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.
