excerpt

noun

ex·cerpt | \ ˈek-ˌsərpt

, ˈeg-ˌzərpt

Definition of excerpt

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a passage (as from a book or musical composition) selected, performed, or copied : extract

excerpt

verb

ex·cerpt | \ ek-ˈsərpt

, eg-ˈzərpt

, ˈek-ˌsərpt

, ˈeg-ˌzərpt

excerpted; excerpting; excerpts

Definition of excerpt (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to select (a passage) for quoting : extract

2 : to take or publish extracts from (something, such as a book)

Other Words from excerpt Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about excerpt

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Examples of excerpt in a Sentence

Noun

Among the excerpts and Twitter feeds and author interviews … there was the actor Will Smith praising The Alchemist as one of his favorite books. — Gregory Cowles, New York Times Book Review, 18 Oct. 2009 When his [Thomas Jefferson's] wife Martha died in 1782, he wrapped a lock of her hair with a scrap of paper containing an excerpt from the couple's favorite novel, Laurence Sterne's comic masterpiece, Tristram Shandy, and stashed the token in his desk. — Walter Kim, Time, 5 July 2004 The exemplary figure here is Norman Mailer, whose 1959 Advertisements for Myself is the height of writerly chutzpah. The book, comprising excerpts from his journalism and fiction, descriptions of the agonies he went through to produce them and obsessive reviews of his reviewers, is so shameless it's admirable. — Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review, 17 June 2001 … I also keep a pad by the side of my bed for writing down great thoughts at night without having to turn on the light. In the morning, these great thoughts sound like excerpts from the Dead Sea Scrolls. — Bill Cosby, Time Flies, (1987) 1988 She read an excerpt from the play. I've read only excerpts of Moby-Dick, never the whole book.

Verb

The fiction that the magazine does publish is too often excerpted from novels or imminently forthcoming collections, making the magazine seem more a flack for publishers than a site of editorial strength and vision. — Vince Passaro, Harper's, August 1999 How quickly does the Net move? Last Friday journalist Michael Colton posted an elaborate Web parody of the forthcoming magazine Talk, which is owned by Miramax and helmed by former New Yorker editor Tina Brown. Within hours, the site's URL had ricocheted about in countless e-mails, and the Drudge Report had excerpted the text. — Newsweek, 26 July 1999

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Listen to an exclusive excerpt of the book available on Audible, below. — Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, "Joanne Ramos Wants 'The Farm' to Make You Feel Uncomfortable," 27 May 2019 According to an excerpt from Jeffrey Robinson's Rainier and Grace: An Intimate Portrait, published in the Chicago Tribune, the pair had train tickets to Paris, where 17-year-old Stephanie was slated to start school. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "The True Story of Grace Kelly's Death, and Why Rumors Surrounding It Have Been So Persistent," 31 Mar. 2019 Members, log in below to read an exclusive excerpt. Can't see the details? — Indianapolis Star, "#BookmarkThis with Sarah Jessica Parker & author Fatima Farheen Mirza," 30 May 2018 The following excerpt explains the subtle art of navigating text conversations with grace and poise. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "The Etiquette Secrets of Proper Texting," 30 Apr. 2019 While the strain between Elisabeth and Rosie has died down in recent years, a new excerpt from the upcoming book The Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View has reignited their 12-year saga. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "What Really Happened on 'The View' Between Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O'Donnell," 27 Mar. 2019 Here are edited excerpts from an interview about his career path. — Ellen Byron, WSJ, "Sweet Spot: Where Data Analysis Meets Chocolate," 29 Mar. 2019 In an excerpt from Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, Jenny wrote about Whoopi's alleged power struggle with Barbara. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "The View's Former Co-Host Jenny McCarthy SLAMS Whoopi Goldberg in New “Tell-All” Book," 21 Mar. 2019 The following excerpts come from The Game Beat, a new book examining the whos, hows, and whys of the game journalists covering the young but growing game industry. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Observations and lessons from two decades of writing about video games," 25 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The following essay was excerpted from THE MOTH PRESENTS: OCCASIONAL MAGIC Copyright @ 2019 Edited by Catherine Byrnes. — Aleeza Kazmi, Teen Vogue, "How Pastels and Crayons Taught Me to Love My Brown Skin," 22 Mar. 2019 Thiebaud’s essay, originally prepared for the Museum of Modern Art, is provided as an exhibition brochure and excerpted in signage on the walls. — Charles Desmarais, San Francisco Chronicle, "Wayne Thiebaud’s early works still confound," 20 Jan. 2018 The following feature is excerpted from TIME’s Queen Elizabeth II: The World’s Longest-Reigning Monarch, available at retailers and on Amazon. — Eliana Dockterman, Time, "Elizabeth Didn’t Expect to Be Queen. Here’s How It Happened," 1 June 2018 As excerpted by Marie Claire, Witherspoon received an invitation to attend a Los Angeles fundraiser hosted by the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William soon after their royal wedding had sent the world into a tizzy. — Devon Ivie, Glamour, "Reese Witherspoon Says She Fell Under Kate Middleton's 'Spell' When They First Met," 26 Sep. 2018 The following is excerpted from Masters of Modern Soccer: How the World’s Best Play the Twenty-First-Century Game. — Grant Wahl, SI.com, "Masters of Modern Soccer: Chicharito and the Art of Mexico's Synchronization," 3 May 2018 This article is excerpted from Hemingway's Boat, by Paul Hendrickson, to be published by Knopf in September 2011. — Paul Hendrickson, Town & Country, "The Muse of Kilimanjaro," 19 Dec. 2012 Many of the emails are excerpted and their full context isn’t clear. — Kirsten Grind, WSJ, "Facebook’s Zuckerberg at Center of Emails Released by U.K. Parliament," 5 Dec. 2018 Joanna revealed the touching story of her engagement to husband Chip in their book The Magnolia Story, which was excerpted on Cosmopolitan.com. — Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, "This is Why Joanna Gaines Will Never Upgrade Her Engagement Ring," 18 June 2018

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