- 1[singular, uncountable] more than is necessary, reasonable or acceptable You can throw away any excess. excess of something Are you suffering from an excess of stress in your life? In an excess of enthusiasm I agreed to work late. He started drinking to excess after losing his job. The increase will not be in excess of (= more than) two per cent. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiverhetorical, stylistic, verbal, … verb + excessavoid, contain, curb, … prepositionin excess, to excess See full entry
- 2[countable, uncountable] an amount by which something is larger than something else We cover costs up to £600 and then you pay the excess. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivelarge, slight prepositionin excess of, excess of See full entry
- 3[countable, usually singular] (British English) (North American English deductible) the part of an insurance claim that a person has to pay while the insurance company pays the rest There is an excess of £100 on each claim under this policy. Increasing the excess on home insurance from the standard £50 to £100 is likely to save 15%. Wordfinderinsuranceactuary, annuity, cover, excess, insurance, no-claims bonus, policy, premium, risk, underwrite
- 4excesses [plural] extreme behaviour that is unacceptable, illegal or immoral We need a free press to curb government excesses. legislation to control the worst excesses of the press and the courts in relation to rape cases See related entries: Immoral Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin excessus, from excedere ‘go out, surpass’, from ex- ‘out’ + cedere ‘go’.Extra examples ‘Avoid excess’ is the golden rule for a healthy life. His statements cannot be simply dismissed as rhetorical excess. The car can travel at speeds in excess of 150 miles per hour. The drug can be harmful if taken in excess. The vehicle had been travelling at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour. They never smoked or drank to excess. Washington has always been a city of wretched excesses. a large excess of gas the worst excesses committed by the occupying army the worst excesses of the 1980s The increase will not be in excess of two per cent. We cover costs up to €600 and then you pay the excess.
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