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

Under the mayor’s proposal, the city would cease trimming all trees but palms except in emergency situations. — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, "San Diego may boost money for tree trimming, lifeguards in new budget," 7 June 2019 New York will become the first state to ban the declawing of cats if Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signs a bill approved by lawmakers Tuesday (June 4) that outlaws the practice except in cases of medical necessity, the New York Times reported. — Kim Chatelain, nola.com, "New York poised to become the 1st state to ban cat declawing: report," 5 June 2019 The county consolidated its regional communications system in 2014, with the Sheriff’s Office and all cities except Coral Springs and Plantation participating. — David Fleshler, sun-sentinel.com, "Police and fire chiefs call for removing radio system from county after Parkland failure," 5 June 2019 White households in those states would be overcounted in almost every case, except in high-risk scenarios in Texas and California. — NBC News, "More than 4 million people at risk of not being counted in 2020 census, new report says," 4 June 2019 Those in most buildings except Building 2, where the shooting occurred, will be back on Tuesday. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, "Virginia Beach releases letter sent before shooting rampage," 3 June 2019 Because the terrible truth was that the bacteria that caused the diarrhea was resistant to every antibiotic the doctors tried against it, and there was nothing people could do except to stay hydrated and hope to survive. — Verge Staff, The Verge, "Seven scary stories to tell by the light of your screen," 31 Oct. 2018 But then Kardashian West posted the exact same photo on her own Instagram Story, except without cropping it, so fans could definitely see Khloé’s bare left hand. — Kaitlyn Frey, PEOPLE.com, "Khloé Kardashian Has Been Concealing Her Ring Finger After Being Seen with Huge Diamond," 28 June 2018 Fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, everybody was taking their spurts except me. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "'NCIS: LA' Star Linda Hunt Said She Was 'Teased a Lot' for Her Height Growing Up," 31 Mar. 2019

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