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except
1[ ik-sept ]
preposition
- with the exclusion of; excluding; save; but:
They were all there except me.
except
2[ ik-sept ]
verb (used with object)
- to exclude from or leave out of a particular category:
Surveys that are used exclusively for certain educational purposes are excepted from these requirements.
verb (used without object)
- to object (usually followed by to or against ):
to except to a statement;
to except against a witness.
except
/ ɪˈɛ /
preposition
- Alsoexcept for other than; apart from; with the exception of
he likes everyone except you
except for this mistake, you did very well
- except thatconjunction but for the fact that; were it not true that
conjunction
- an archaic word for unless
- informal.except that; but for the fact that
I would have arrived earlier, except I lost my way
verb
- tr to leave out; omit; exclude
- rare.introften foll byto to take exception; object
Confusables Note
Other Word Forms
- ··· adjective
- un···· adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of except1
Idioms and Phrases
- except for, if it were not for:
She would travel more except for lack of money.
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Especially if Trump announces in July that every country except China, Canada and Mexico will continue at 10%.
"I didn't think people would see that, except me and her," he says, "but it was such a moment for me."
And by the way, it’s almost always been remote, except for the first season.
The party will try to amend the government's Crime and Policing Bill to ban forces from logging such incidents, except in limited circumstances.
The last wolf legally shot in California was in 1924, and by 1930 they were gone from almost the entire country, except for a small pack in northern Minnesota.
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Related Words
Except Vs. Accept
’s the difference between except and accept?
Except is most commonly used as a preposition meaning excluding or but, as in Everyone was invited except me, or as a conjunction meaning but for the fact that, as in I would have called, except I lost my phone. Accept is a common word with many meanings, most of which involve receiving something, taking something on, or putting up with something.
Accept is always a verb. Except can also be used as a verb meaning to exclude, as in the common phrase present company excepted, but its verb use is much less common.
To remember the difference in the spelling between accept and except, remember that except shares the prefix ex- with exclude, which is fitting since except is commonly used in situations in which someone or something has been excluded.
Accept, on the other hand, is often used in situations in which something is acquired.
Here’s an example of except and accept used correctly in the same sentence.
Example: I usually accept your excuses, except this time I know they’re not true.
Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between except and accept.
Quiz yourself on except vs. accept!
Should except or accept be used in the following sentence?
The cake was great _____ for the icing, which was a little too sweet.
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.
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