EXCESS • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Excess

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/ˈɛksˌɛs/ /ɪksˈɛs/ Listen

noun

Excess n.

1.

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; immoderateness; superfluity; superabundance; extravagance; as, an excess of provisions or of light. "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet,... Is wasteful and ridiculous excess." "That kills me with excess of grief, this with excess of joy."

2.

An undue indulgence of the appetite; transgression of proper moderation in natural gratifications; intemperance; dissipation. "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess." "Thy desire... leads to no excess That reaches blame."

3.

The degree or amount by which one thing or number exceeds another; remainder; as, the difference between two numbers is the excess of one over the other.

Spherical excess (Geom.), 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.

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Etymology of 'Excess'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Excess" Quotes from Famous Books

... pipe between Vaughn and Pastura had a theoretical capacity of 84 000 gal. per day. It delivers only 65,000 gal. per day. There are 5 miles of bored pipe on the upper end of this section. Pressure gaugings show a hydraulic gradient in excess of the theoretical on the bored pipe, whereas the stave pipe on the lower end carries the 65,000 gal. on a flatter ...

— The Water Supply of the El Paso and Southwestern Railway from Carrizozo to Santa Rosa, N. Mex. • J. L. Campbell

... detectives have communicated to me, I am led to believe that you are a woman with a keen appreciation of worldly comfort and luxury. I say this, without intending the slightest offense. You are aware, undoubtedly, that I am able to supply you with all you crave for—far in excess of anything that you can possibly hope to obtain from Collins. If you will consent to appear at my lawyer's ...

— The Substitute Prisoner • Max Marcin

... when poetry had fallen into such utter decay that Mr. Hayley was thought a great poet, it began to appear that the excess of the evil was about to work the cure. Men became tired of an insipid conformity to a standard which derived no authority from nature or reason. A shallow criticism had taught them to ascribe a superstitious value to the spurious correctness of poetasters. A deeper criticism ...

— Critical and Historical Essays Volume 2 • Thomas Babington Macaulay

... war, both at the front and at home, have been of the greatest value. They are worth much of the price paid. But in this life all is a question of balance; and my contention is, not so much that town-life in itself is bad, as that we have pushed it to a point of excess terribly dangerous to our physique, to our dignity, and to our sense of beauty. Must our future have no serene and simple quality, not even a spice of the influence of Nature, with her air, her trees, her fields, and wide ...

— Another Sheaf • John Galsworthy

... different. Twenty-three were tried in the same manner; five of the squares produced no effect, but three of these cases were no real exceptions, for in two of them the squares had slipped and were parallel to the apex, and in the third the shellac was in excess and had spread equally all round the apex. One radicle was deflected only slightly from the perpendicular and from the card; whilst seventeen were plainly deflected. The angles in several of these latter cases varied between 40o and 65o from the perpendicular; and in ...

— The Power of Movement in Plants • Charles Darwin

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