surplus

1 of 2

noun

sur·​plus ˈsər-(ˌ)pləs 

1

a

: the amount that remains when use or need is satisfied

b

: an excess of receipts over disbursements

2

: the excess of a corporation's net worth over the par or stated value of its stock

surplus

2 of 2

adjective

: more than the amount that is needed : constituting a surplus

surplus food/clothing/equipment

When the sea captains returned, they would sell their surplus wares on the wharves.

—Carol Vogel

Long before the comparable worth battles of today, the economic value of women's work was evident to farm women who set prices for the surplus butter, candles, soap, honey, preserves, chickens, and eggs they raised or manufactured.

—Mary Kay Blakely

Synonyms

Noun

• bellyful
• excess
• fat
• overabundance
• overage
• overflow
• overkill
• overmuch
• overplus
• oversupply
• plethora
• plus
• redundancy
• superabundance
• superfluity
• surfeit
• surplusage

Adjective

• excess
• extra
• redundant
• spare
• supererogatory
• superfluous
• supernumerary

Examples of surplus in a Sentence

Noun

If there is any surplus, it will be divided equally.

There is a surplus of workers and not enough jobs.

Adjective

surplus stock gets shipped to the warehouse and is eventually sold at auction

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On Robust Earnings Reports—As Microsoft Reclaims Crown As World’s Largest Company Having no plan for what to do with a surplus of chicken feet, yes chicken feet, is a sad state of affairs after turning your back on more than 1.4 billion Chinese consumers. —Phil Kafarakis, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

While the city currently has an approximate $3.6 million surplus in the latest budget, city officials expressed reluctance to drop the revenue stream. —Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2025

Adjective

The Commercial Space Act of 1998 prohibits the use of surplus ICBM motors for commercial launches and limits their use to only specific kinds of military launches. —Abigail Bassett, ArsTechnica, 25 Apr. 2025

Under current state law, the state must transfer the $1.4 billion in surplus tax collections later this year to the state’s pension funds in order to pay down debt. —Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin superplus, from Latin super- + plus more — more at plus

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1589, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing surplus

• budget surplus
• surplus to requirements
• surplus value
• trade surplus

Rhymes for surplus

• surplice

Kids Definition

surplus

noun

sur·​plus ˈsər-(ˌ)pləs 

1

: the amount more than what is required or necessary : excess

2

: an excess of income over spending

surplus adjective

Legal Definition

surplus

noun

sur·​plus ˈsər-ˌpləs 

1

a

: an amount that remains when a use or need is satisfied

b

: an excess of receipts over disbursements

c

: the value of assets after subtracting liabilities

2

: an excess of the net worth of a corporation over the par value of its capital stock compare undivided profits

— capital surplus

: all surplus other than earned surplus

— earned surplus

: the surplus that remains after deducting losses, distributions to stockholders, and transfers to capital stock accounts

— paid-in surplus

: surplus resulting from the sale of stock at amounts above par