excess

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /əkˈsɛs/ or /ˈɛksɛs/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

Singular excess

Plural excesses

1. (uncountable) (singular) An excess is an amount that is too much.

   Cut the meat off the bone and remove any excess fat.

   At our meetings, there was always an excess of food.

   Cover the wood surface with oil and then wipe off the excess.

2. (uncountable) (plural) Excesses are behaviours that are not against the law, but are still not accepted by society.

   After the excesses of her teens, she stopped smoking, drinking, and partying completely.

   People are sick of watching their leaders brought down by their excesses.

   Wild gambling and extravagant spending were excesses of the Regency period.

3. If $x$ is in excess of $y$, it is more than $y$.

   The car was traveling in excess of 150 km/h.

Related words

• excessive
• excessively