noun
- The state of surpassing or going beyond limits; the being of a measure beyond sufficiency, necessity, or duty; that which exceeds what is usual or proper
- The degree or amount by which one thing or number exceeds another; remainder.
- An undue indulgence of the appetite; transgression of proper moderation in natural gratifications; intemperance; dissipation.
- Spherical excess, the amount by which the sum of the three angles of a spherical triangle exceeds two right angles. The spherical excess is proportional to the area of the triangle.
- A condition on an insurance policy by which the insured pays for a part of the claim.
Synonyms: deductible
verb
- To declare (an employee) surplus to requirements, such that he or she might not be given work.
adjective
- More than is normal, necessary or specified.
Pronunciation
About this word
Excess is a 3-meaning word in English. Medium-length words often have several interesting anagrams.
This page shows the definition of excess along with every other word you can make from its letters. Click the link above to see all anagrams and shorter words formed from the same set of letters.
How to use this page
Every word in our dictionary has its own page like this one. Here you can:
- Read the definition — see what the word means, how it is used in context, and which part of speech it belongs to.
- Hear the pronunciation — when an audio recording is available, press the play button to hear the word spoken aloud.
- Browse synonyms — see related words that share a similar meaning, useful for expanding your vocabulary.
- Find anagrams — click "Other words from excess's letters" to see every word you can spell using the same letters.
Words in word games
If you are playing a word game, knowing whether a word is valid is essential. Excess appears in our 370,000-word English dictionary, which includes most words accepted in Scrabble and Words With Friends. However, always check the official word list for the specific game you are playing, as different games use different dictionaries.
Scrabble
In Scrabble, the valid word lists are the Official Tournament and Club Word List (OTCWL/NWL) for North America and the Collins Scrabble Words (CSW) for international play. Our dictionary covers most words in both lists, but some proper nouns, abbreviations, and offensive terms may differ.
Wordle
Wordle uses its own curated word list that is smaller than the full Scrabble dictionary. If Excess appears here, it may or may not be a valid Wordle answer — but it is a real English word regardless.
Try it interactively
Open Excess in the interactive unscrambler →
More word resources
Explore our guides for more word game help:
Or see all our guides on the blog index.