ex·cess (ĭk-sĕs', ĕk'sĕs')
n.

1. The state of exceeding what is normal or sufficient: rains that filled the reservoirs to excess.
2. An amount or quantity beyond what is normal or sufficient; a surplus.
3. The amount or degree by which one quantity exceeds another: Profit is the excess of sales over costs.
4. Intemperance; overindulgence: drank to excess.
5. A behavior or an action that exceeds proper or lawful bounds: tried to avoid engaging in emotional excesses such as hysteria and fits of temper.

adj.
Being more than is usual, required, or permitted: skimming off the excess fat. See synonyms at superfluous.

tr.v., -cessed, -cess·ing, -cess·es.
To eliminate the job or position of.

idiom:

in excess of

1. Greater than; more than: unit sales in excess of 20 million.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin excessus, past participle of excēdere, to exceed. See exceed.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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