except

preposition ex·cept \ ik-ˈsept \

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

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Examples: except in a Sentence

Definition of except

: with the exclusion or exception of

daily except Sundays

See except defined for English-language learners

See except defined for kids

Examples of except in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of except from the Web

Grill the burgers, undisturbed except to deal with flare-ups if necessary, until grill-marked on the bottom, about 4 minutes.

— adam ried, BostonGlobe.com, "Recipes: Switch it up with lamb burgers instead of beef," 13 July 2018
McCoughtry doesn’t have a lot of firsts left — except one.

— katherine fominykh, baltimoresun.com, "A new role for Baltimore native, Atlanta Dream star Angel McCoughtry with same old goal," 11 July 2018
The car is comfortable enough, however, and reasonably quiet except when the little engine is flogged.

— al haas, Philly.com, "Nissan's Kicks is a cute, useful hatchback, not a crossover," 5 July 2018
These prices aren't much more than a round-trip economy flight for the same journey, except roomettes are much more comfortable.

— bridget hallinan, Condé Nast Traveler, "Train Deal: Two-For-One Roomettes on Amtrak," 21 June 2018
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the judge who is leading the investigation, sat on stage and listened, seldom speaking except to offer words of condolence.

— The Economist, "Grenfell’s long shadow," 9 June 2018
Her demeanor throughout this process is jubilant, except in one moment.

— benjamin oreskes, www.latimes.com, "Many people work hard to avoid the homeless. These volunteers embrace them," 7 June 2018
Apple, the company maintains, did not use Facebook data except to do what a user asked, like post a photo or find friends on iTunes.

— alexis c. madrigal, The Atlantic, "What We Know About Facebook’s Latest Data Scandal," 4 June 2018
This very well could be the most epic crossover in movie history...except where is Mulan?!

— victoria rodriguez, Seventeen, ""Wreck-It Ralph 2" Features Your Favorite Disney Princesses," 4 June 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.

First Known Use of except

14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

except Synonyms

Synonyms

apart from, aside from, bar, barring, beside, besides, but, except for, excluding, exclusive of, other than, outside, outside of, save, saving;

except

verb

Definition of except

excepted; excepting; excepts

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: to take exception : object

—

exceptive

play \ik-ˈsep-təv\ adjective

See except defined for English-language learners

Examples of except in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of except from the Web

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
No one has played more basketball than the Warriors over the past four seasons, excepting the seemingly ageless LeBron James.

— al saracevic, SFChronicle.com, "After four long years of winning, are the Warriors tired?," 23 May 2018
Who — present company excepted — reads newspapers anymore?

— christopher arnott, courant.com, "David Lutken Tames a Wild, Woolly 'Will Rogers Follies'," 3 May 2018
Raise the firearm purchase age to 21, excepting members of the military, suggested Rep. Dan Miller (D., Allegheny).

— justine mcdaniel, Philly.com, "Gun safety after Parkland: Here's every idea the Pa. House has. Will any become reality?," 19 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of except

Middle English, from Anglo-French excepter, from Latin exceptare, frequentative of excipere to take out, except, from ex- + capere to take — more at heave

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

except Synonyms

Phrases

close one's doors to;

except

conjunction

variants: or less commonly excepting

Definition of except

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

See except defined for English-language learners

Examples of except in a Sentence

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

First Known Use of except

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

except Synonyms

Synonyms

but, only, saving, yet;

EXCEPT Defined for English Language Learners

except

preposition

Definition of except for English Language Learners

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

except

verb

Definition of except for English Language Learners

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

except

conjunction

Definition of except for English Language Learners

—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.