except
except Lexical Profile
except Game Scores & Validity
• preposition
Not including; other than; excluding a specified person, thing, or group.
"The public library is open every day of the week except Sunday."
• conjunction
Used before a clause or statement to introduce the only circumstance, fact, or detail that makes a preceding statement not completely true or applicable.
"The two apartments are nearly identical in layout, except the one on the top floor has a private balcony."
• verb
To exclude or leave out someone or something from a category, rule, or general statement.
"Emergency vehicles are excepted from the city's newly imposed traffic restrictions."
To make a formal objection against a ruling, witness, or legal point (used in legal contexts, typically with 'to' or 'against').
"Defense counsel formally excepted to the judge's ruling regarding the admissibility of the document."
Word Nuance & Usage
Frequently confused with the near-homophone 'accept'; 'except' means to exclude or leave out, whereas 'accept' means to receive willingly or agree to.
• Rhymes for except
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Old French excepter, from Latin exceptus, the past participle of excipere ('to take out, withdraw, or make an exception'), formed from ex- ('out') and capere ('to take').