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

In almost every state (except Alaska, Connecticut, and New Jersey), district attorneys are elected. — Andrew Cockburn, Harper's magazine, "Power of Attorney," 16 Sep. 2019 There’s nothing quite like a real life fairytale...except really, really good hair. — Braelyn Wood, Health.com, "Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray Is the Meghan Markle-Loved Beauty Product Everyone Needs to Try," 12 Sep. 2019 The condition has no cure except resettling at a lower altitude—although some of the damage may be permanent. — Xing Liu, Science Magazine, "At 5100 meters elevation, a Peruvian gold mining town is the world’s highest settlement—and a good place to study how life at extremely low oxygen levels ravages the body.," 12 Sep. 2019 By 2016, about 31% of the Italy’s citations came from authors within its borders—more than any other country except the United States, a research powerhouse where many intranational citations are expected. — Giorgia Guglielmi, Science | AAAS, "Clubby and ‘disturbing’ citation behavior by researchers in Italy has surged," 11 Sep. 2019 Remove all stuffing except that which is inside the animal’s front legs (or arms). — Woman's Day Staff, Woman's Day, "Repurposed Stuffed Animal Costume," 9 Sep. 2019 So far so good—except that our former employee didn't give up. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "Todd Chrisley Was Reportedly Indicted for Tax Evasion and Several Other Charges," 14 Aug. 2019 Usually the British public pick up the bill for official overseas travel except when the royals are visiting Commonwealth Realms (countries where the Queen is also Head of State), in which case the host country pays. — Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, "How Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family Really Travel," 10 Aug. 2019 Starting offensive linemen are almost never subbed except in the case of injury. — Jerry Mcdonald, The Mercury News, "Raiders mailbag: With Antonio Brown in rear-view mirror, a return to football questions," 13 Sep. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The teams have played every season starting in 1964, excepting in 2017 when the game was cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey. — Elliott Lapin, Houston Chronicle, "Strake Jesuit Crusaders keep the upper hand in rivarly with the St. Thomas Eagles with week 1 win," 3 Sep. 2019 Image isn’t everything Van Wagenen, excepting his chair-throwing fit in a coaches’ meeting last week, seems an exemplar of California cool. — New York Times, "What Brodie Van Wagenen Can Learn From the Architect of the ’69 Mets," 22 July 2019 No earthquake occurred during my residence in Chile, excepting a temblor, or gentle shake. — Ben Zimmer, WSJ, "For a Term for ‘Earthquake,’ the Ground Has Shifted," 11 July 2019 Along with Scott taking over at left tackle, third-year guard Forrest Lamp is excepted to play off the bench against the Colts. — Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, "Chargers confident Trent Scott can tackle job of protecting Philip Rivers’ blind side," 6 Sep. 2019 Since then, thanks to more than a hundred and fifty lightning ignitions, almost every acre, excepting bare rock and the creek itself, has burned at least once—some in small, pocket blazes, some in larger, more intense conflagrations. — Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, "A Trailblazing Plan to Fight California Wildfires," 19 Aug. 2019 Car dealers excepted, few state lobbies are as ferociously protectionist as purveyors of demon rum. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Sobriety About the Commerce Clause," 26 June 2019 Johnny U was an American original, a piece of work like none other, excepting maybe Paul Bunyan and Horatio Alger. — The Si Staff, SI.com, "100 Figures Who Shaped the NFL’s First Century," 28 Aug. 2019 Humboldt County had the second highest homicide rate of any county in the state in 2018, excepting Kern County. — Robert Peach, The Mercury News, "Humboldt County has state’s 2nd-highest homicide rate. Why?," 14 July 2019

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