except for

preposition

1

: with the exception of

Everyone was gone except for me.

2

: were it not for

except for you I would be dead

Synonyms of except for

• except
• beside
• besides
• other than
• but

Examples of except for in a Sentence

except for newscasts, I hardly watch any television at all

Recent Examples on the Web

Another group, the Hokkaido Bear Research Society, has vocally opposed killing bears except for legitimate hunting purposes. —Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025

Iran’s mandatory-hijab law requires women to cover their head and entire body, except for their face and hands below the wrist. —Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 7 Nov. 2025

My daughter, Odette, and my wife Genevieve Padalecki will watch it, and Odette loves it, except for when Dean and Rory kiss. —Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025

Glen Powell, naked except for a towel, dangles from a rope eight stories in the air in below-freezing Bulgaria as director Edgar Wright watches from the ground in a parka, sipping an espresso. —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for except for

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• blastopore
• carnivore
• commodore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore

Kids Definition

except for

preposition

: with the exception of : but for

all A's except for a B in Latin