Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The state of exceeding what is normal or sufficient.
  • noun An amount or quantity beyond what is normal or sufficient; a surplus.
  • noun The amount or degree by which one quantity exceeds another.
  • noun Intemperance; overindulgence.
  • noun A behavior or action that exceeds proper or lawful bounds.
  • adjective Being more than is usual, required, or permitted: synonym: superfluous.
  • transitive verb To eliminate the job or position of.
  • idiom (in excess of) Greater than; more than.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A going beyond ordinary, necessary, or proper limits; superfluity in number, quantity, or amount; undue quantity; superabundance: as, an excess of provisions; excess of bile in the system.
  • noun Undue indulgence of appetite; want of restraint in gratifying the desires; intemperance; over-indulgence.
  • noun The amount by which one number or quantity exceeds another; overplus; surplus: as, the excess of revenue over expenditures is so much.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The state of surpassing or going beyond limits; the being of a measure beyond sufficiency, necessity, or duty; that which exceeds what is usual or proper; immoderateness; superfluity; superabundance; extravagance.
  • noun An undue indulgence of the appetite; transgression of proper moderation in natural gratifications; intemperance; dissipation.
  • noun The degree or amount by which one thing or number exceeds another; remainder.
  • noun (Geom.) the amount by which the sum of the three angles of a spherical triangle exceeds two right angles. The spherical excess is proportional to the area of the triangle.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The state of surpassing or going beyond limits; the being of a measure beyond sufficiency, necessity, or duty; that which exceeds what is usual or proper; immoderateness; superfluity; superabundance; extravagance; as, an excess of provisions or of light.
  • noun The degree or amount by which one thing or number exceeds another; remainder; as, the difference between two numbers is the excess of one over the other.
  • noun An undue indulgence of the appetite; transgression of proper moderation in natural gratifications; intemperance; dissipation.
  • noun geometry Spherical excess, the amount by which the sum of the three angles of a spherical triangle exceeds two right angles. The spherical excess is proportional to the area of the triangle.
  • noun UK, insurance A condition on an insurance policy by which the insured pays for the first part of any claim, in exchange for a lower premium.
  • adjective More than is normal, necessary or specified

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the state of being more than full
  • noun a quantity much larger than is needed
  • adjective more than is needed, desired, or required
  • noun excessive indulgence
  • noun immoderation as a consequence of going beyond sufficient or permitted limits

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin excessus, past participle of excēdere, to exceed; see exceed.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English exces ("excess, ecstasy"), from Latin excessus ("a going out, loss of self-possession"), from excedere, excessum ("to go out, go beyond"). See exceed.

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Examples

  • Anything in excess is bad and that means our children should learn there is time for play time (with real toys not some console), video game time, reading time, TV time and general do nothing time.

    Readership Numbers...More or Less 2007

  • No surprise then that Wal-Mart Realty currently has 145 empty buildings on its hands -- what they call "excess property," totaling a staggering 12.6 million square feet of dead stores.

    Al Norman: Dancing on Wal-Mart's Grave Al Norman 2011

  • No surprise then that Wal-Mart Realty currently has 145 empty buildings on its hands -- what they call "excess property," totaling a staggering 12.6 million square feet of dead stores.

    Al Norman: Dancing on Wal-Mart's Grave Al Norman 2011

  • Japan has repeatedly said it would intervene to stop what it termed excess volatility and has said the yen's strength near postwar highs against the dollar wasn't warranted by the fundamentals of the Japanese economy.

    U.S. Criticizes Japan, China on Currencies Tom Barkley 2011

  • On page 251 he discusses what happens when a bank tries to circulate more currency than what the country can employ, and how the excess is almost immediately returned.

    A Bland and Deadly Courtesy skzbrust 2009

  • No surprise then that Wal-Mart Realty currently has 145 empty buildings on its hands -- what they call "excess property," totaling a staggering 12.6 million square feet of dead stores.

    Al Norman: Dancing on Wal-Mart's Grave Al Norman 2011

  • On page 251 he discusses what happens when a bank tries to circulate more currency than what the country can employ, and how the excess is almost immediately returned.

    A Bland and Deadly Courtesy skzbrust 2009

  • Summers, Larry Summers today said people should stop talking down the economy and end what he called the excess of fear.

    CNN Transcript Mar 13, 2009 2009

  • BASH: This bipartisan team plans to spend all weekend writing a new economic measure, scrubbing what they call excess spending, things like $1.1 billion for comparative health research, $75 million for anti-smoking programs, or $248 million to consolidate the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.

    CNN Transcript Jan 30, 2009 2009

  • SALVATORE: Well, I was going to say, also, increasingly, private insurance is also covering what they called excess flood insurance.

    CNN Transcript Jun 21, 2008 2008

Comments

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  • See moderation for success.

    July 12, 2009