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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
Examples of except for in a Sentence
except for newscasts, I hardly watch any television at all
Recent Examples on the Web
Pay an additional $1 to add the Power Play for a chance to multiply all Powerball winnings except for the jackpot.
—Evan Frank, The Indianapolis Star, 23 Apr. 2024
Long and skinny, with light fur everywhere except for their black face masks, feet and tail tips, the mammals are nocturnal and mostly live underground.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Apr. 2024
So for the first year, the uniforms are identical except for color schemes.
—David Waldstein Mimi D’autremont, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The narrative sequences are in Portuguese, except for one character who speaks in French.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 18 Apr. 2024
To find the right head space, Sawai mostly kept to herself, except for her personal costumer, who spent every morning wrapping her kimono’s thick layers around her.
—Jake Kring-Schreifels, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
Mancini seemed to have a charmed life and career, except for dying at the relatively young age of 70 of pancreatic cancer.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
On the laptop front, the Ryzen Pro 8040 series features eight processor models — all of which contain the Ryzen AI processing, except for the lowest tier, the Ryzen 5 Pro 8540U.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 16 Apr. 2024
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day, except for Dec. 25.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'except for.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of except for was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near except for
Cite this Entry
“Except for.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/except%20for. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Kids Definition
except for
preposition
: with the exception of : but for
all A's except for a B in Latin
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