Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

surplusage

noun sur·plus·age \ -(ˌ)plə-sij \

Definition of surplusage

1 :surplus 1a
2 a :excessive or nonessential matter
b :matter introduced in legal pleading which is not necessary or relevant to the case

From the M-W Editors

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III
alt-59e8af1b31525
Trending: NY Times: Trump's Call Ignites 'Imbroglio'
tycoon
17 English Words that Come From Japanese
alt-59ea52ed7b96f
Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Examples of surplusage in a Sentence

  1. a mall with a surplusage of stores all selling the same lines of clothing

Recent Examples of surplusage from the Web

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

First Known Use of surplusage

15th century

surplusage Synonyms

Synonyms
bellyful, fat, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, overplus, oversupply, plethora, plus, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, excess
Antonyms
deficiency, deficit, insufficiency, undersupply
Related Words
abundance, bounty, plentitude, plenty, profusion, sufficiency; overproduction, overstock
Near Antonyms
dearth, lack, scarcity, want

Law Dictionary

surplusage

noun sur·plus·age \ ˈsər-ˌplə-sij \

legal Definition of surplusage

:excessive or nonessential matter; especially :matter contained in a pleading that is unnecessary or irrelevant

Learn More about surplusage

  1. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for surplusage

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up surplusage? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

nuncupative

play

spoken rather than written

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. imbroglio "a public scandal"

  2. spurious of a deceitful nature or quality

  3. righteous We provide an assortment of definitions

  4. Kafkaesque 'A nightmarish quality'

  5. mike "microphone"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Test Your Vocabulary

The Exceptions Quiz III

  • one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
  • Which of these words does not mean "nonsense"?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59ea52ed7b96f
Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Where did we get 'freshman' and 'sophomore'?

alt-59e900afadac6
The Synonyms 'Discover' and 'Invent'

In the past, you could invent fruit.

alt-59e8c3440f453
I'll Have the Us(ual)

Shortening 'usual': easy to say, hard to spell

alt-59e77dc36c593
The Origins of 'Lobbyist'

From the front hallways to the back rooms

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III

Which of these things doesn't belong?

Take the quiz
knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game
Examples: surplusage in a Sentence