except

preposition

ex·cept | \ ik-ˈsept

variants: or less commonly excepting \ ik-ˈsep-tiŋ

Definition of except

(Entry 1 of 3)

: with the exclusion or exception of daily except Sundays

except

verb

excepted; excepting; excepts

Definition of except (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to take or leave out from a number or a whole : exclude

intransitive verb

: to take exception : object

except

conjunction

variants: or less commonly excepting

Definition of except (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : on any other condition than that : unless except you repent

2 : with this exception, namely was inaccessible except by boat

3 : only —often followed by that I would go except that it's too far

Other Words from except Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about except

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Examples of except in a Sentence

Preposition

The stores will be open daily except Sundays. the store is open daily except Sundays

Verb

Children were excepted from the study. I must except to your remark that there are no great novelists currently living.

Conjunction

I'd go, except it's too far.

Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition

Rhinoceroses are getting rarer everywhere in the wild—everywhere, that is, except in the wilds of China’s financial system. — Mike Bird, WSJ, "Look for Gray Rhinos, Not Black Swans, in China’s Financial Zoo," 22 Mar. 2019 The heroic element of his position has vanished—except in the case of the long, last-second field goal—because of the metronomic reliability of the fitter, better-coached and more technically proficient specialists of today. — Michael Farber, SI.com, "Mark Moseley, Last of the Straight-On Kickers," 2 July 2018 Since Trump was elected, tourism to the United States from every region of the world is down — except from Canada, according to the UN World Tourism Organization. — Christopher Muther, BostonGlobe.com, "This summer, there will be no vacation from Trump talk," 18 June 2018 Apparently there's no other explanation needed for all this staff turnover except being in the job for a few years. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Who Is Sara Latham, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's New PR Guru?," 15 Mar. 2019 Recipe to avoid jet lag?There’s no real secret to beating jet lag except being very diligent on hydration and eating light, clean food while in flight. — Katherine Lagrave, Condé Nast Traveler, "Maria Sharapova Answers 37 Questions About Travel," 27 Aug. 2018 Hyland, of course, hasn't commented except with some sad and heartfelt messages about the show being cancelled. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Could a 'Modern Family' Spinoff Feature Sarah Hyland's Character?," 6 Feb. 2019 Availability: Veestro currently elivers to any physical address within the United States except in Alaska or Hawaii. 11. — Glamour, "The 11 Best Healthy Food Delivery Services When You Just Can't With Grocery Shopping," 2 Jan. 2019 Under the Tort Claims Act, the federal government and its employees have sovereign immunity that shields them from civil or criminal liability except in certain limited circumstances. — Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, "TSA agents cannot be sued over allegations of abuse, federal court rules," 11 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

As is usually the case with historic homes, and excepting a small gallery space on the second floor, explanatory text and labels are not used. — Laura Jacobs, WSJ, "‘Costume & Custom: Middle Eastern Threads at Olana’ Review: A Painter’s Souvenir Closet," 2 July 2018 Google gets top marks for the exterior of the Pixel Slate (keyboard excepted), but the interior is where things start to get messy. — Dieter Bohn, The Verge, "Google Pixel Slate review: slapdash," 27 Nov. 2018 Turkey and Britain excepted, the NATO nations are more dependencies than allies. ... — Ezra Klein, Vox, "Why is Trump undermining NATO and the EU? He just told us.," 13 July 2018 In our Big 4 games hands are crucial to most of the key players (offensive and defensive linemen generally excepted). — Bob Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, "You don’t have to love soccer to appreciate the greatness of the World Cup," 29 June 2018 But the Westside's streets are gridlocked for hours twice a day, everyday; cycling is often lethal; and excepting main commercial strips and touristy stretches, most of the area's sidewalks are utterly empty. — Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, "Fly On, My Sleek Electric Bird," 30 May 2018 And all of the attendees, possibly excepting the guy from DSA, are united by their desire to get a photo of (or long-distance selfie with) Musk, who is mobbed at the stage after the presentation. — Kevin Lincoln, The Verge, "I went to Elon Musk’s Boring Company LA pep rally," 18 May 2018 Congress hasn’t impeached a member of the executive branch (presidents excepted) since the 19th century. — Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ, "The Real Constitutional Crisis," 24 May 2018 Daniel Slater of the University of Michigan points out that during that period not a single regime met even minimally democratic standards, excepting Thailand’s brief flirtation with democracy in 1973-76, which soon gave way to military rule. — The Economist, "South-East Asia: lots of elections, not so much democracy," 24 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'except.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for except

except

preposition

English Language Learners Definition of except

(Entry 1 of 3)

: not including (someone or something) : other than (something or someone)

except

verb

English Language Learners Definition of except (Entry 2 of 3)

formal : to leave out (someone or something) : to not include (someone or something)

except

conjunction

English Language Learners Definition of except (Entry 3 of 3)

—used to introduce a statement that indicates the only person or thing that is not included in or referred to by a previous statement

—used to introduce a statement that explains the reason why something is not possible, will not happen, etc.

See the full definition for except in the English Language Learners Dictionary

except

preposition

ex·cept | \ ik-ˈsept

Kids Definition of except

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : not including We're open every day except Sundays.

2 : other than : but She told everyone except me.

except

conjunction

Kids Definition of except (Entry 2 of 3)

: if it were not for the fact that : only I'd go, except it's too far.

except

verb

excepted; excepting

Kids Definition of except (Entry 3 of 3)

: to leave out from a number or a whole : exclude Children are excepted from the requirements.

except

transitive verb

ex·cept | \ ik-ˈsept\

Legal Definition of except

: to take or leave out (as from insurance coverage or a deed) : exclude specifically excepted the air carriers and unions from the provisions— M. A. Kelly

intransitive verb

: object especially : to file a bill of exceptions or make a formal exception excepted to the judge's order