I. ex ‧ cess 1 /ɪkˈses, ˈekses/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: French ; Origin: excès , from Late Latin excessus , from Latin excedere ; ⇨ ↑ exceed ]
1 . [singular, uncountable] a larger amount of something than is allowed or needed:
After you apply the oil, wait 20 minutes before wiping off any excess.
excess of
It was an excess of enthusiasm that caused the problem.
2 . in excess of something more than a particular amount:
The car reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.
3 . do something to excess to do something too much or too often, so that it may harm you:
Drinking is OK as long as you don’t do it to excess.
4 . excesses [plural] harmful actions that are socially or morally unacceptable
excesses of
The government was unable to curb the excesses of the secret police.
the worst excesses of journalism
5 . [uncountable] behaviour which is not acceptable because it is too extreme:
a long sermon against the dangers of excess
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 4)
■ adjectives
▪ worst excesses
He lived through some of the worst excesses of apartheid in South Africa.
▪ wild excesses (=very extreme behaviour)
The Press Complaints Commission criticized the wilder excesses of tabloid journalism.
■ verbs
▪ curb the excesses of something (=control or limit bad behaviour)
A strong press can help to curb the excesses of government.
▪ commit excesses (=do very bad or immoral things, especially hurting or killing people in an unacceptable way)
The excesses committed by a small number of soldiers have ruined the regiment's good name.
▪ perpetrate excesses formal (=commit them)
Government forces used the situation as an excuse to perpetrate excesses against suspected rebels.
II. ex ‧ cess 2 /ˈekses/ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
1 . additional and not needed because there is already enough of something:
Cut any excess fat from the meat.
2 . excess baggage/luggage bags or cases that weigh more than the legal limit that you can take on a plane