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
In general, the surplusage and consequent confusion of our great . . . art museums is a matter of daily and just comment.
From Time Magazine Archive
The allegation of color is unnecessary, yet as it is descriptive of that, which is the subject-matter of the charge, it cannot be rejected as surplusage, and the man convicted of stealing a white horse.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 10 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Legal by Ingersoll, Robert Green
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.
