From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpardon mepardon mespoken a) SORRY/APOLOGIZEused to say ‘sorry’ politely when you have accidentally pushed someone or interrupted them Oh, pardon me, I didn’t mean to disturb you. b) SORRY/APOLOGIZEused to say ‘sorry’ politely after you have made an impolite sound such as a burp c) DISAGREEused before you politely correct someone or disagree with them James, if you’ll pardon me, you’ve got it all wrong. d) ASK A QUESTIONused to politely get someone’s attention in order to ask them a question SYN excuse me Pardon me, can you direct me to City Hall? → pardon
Examples from the Corpus
pardon me• I ask you to pardon me.• Pardon me, but I'd better answer that phone.• Pardon me, but that's not exactly what happened.• Rex, pardon me, but you don't seem to be shrugging helplessly or shaking your head.• You must pardon me, by the way, for speaking to you in this vague way.• Pardon me, can you tell me how to get to the library?• Or is it, pardon me for being so vulgar but others will ask the same, her family?• And can you pardon me for coming to such a conclusion as that in the last line of my verses?• Pardon me for thinking they were important, pardon me for feeling beautiful and lyrical, pardon me for loving you. 