except

A2 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled cept and xcepting

US /ɪkˈsɛpt/ UK /ɪkˈsɛpt/ See IPA manual

Freq #799

Meanings

1

prep
Not including; apart from.

There was nothing in the cupboard except a tin of beans.
2

conj
Used to introduce the only thing that makes a statement not completely true.

You look a bit like my sister, except she has longer hair.
3

verb
To leave something or someone out; to not include.

I find most people annoying — present company excepted, of course.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 prep · not including; apart from. apart fromaside frombut excludingexcept for

3 verb · to leave something or... excludetake out

Opposites

even

Word family

Forms exceptedexceptingexcepts

Related forms exceptionexcipient

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Except dates from late Middle English and ultimately derives from Latin capere ‘take or hold’; its literal sense is ‘take out of’.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French excepter, from Latin exceptus.

*kap- Proto-Indo-European excepter Middle French exceptus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# except

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** prep, conj, verb
**IPA (US):** /ɪkˈsɛpt/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪkˈsɛpt/
**Frequency rank:** 799

## Meanings
1. Not including; apart from.
2. Used to introduce the only thing that makes a statement not completely true.
3. To leave something or someone out; to not include.

## Examples
- There was nothing in the cupboard except a tin of beans.
- You look a bit like my sister, except she has longer hair.
- I find most people annoying — present company excepted, of course.

## Antonyms
- even

## Related Forms
- exception
- excipient

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kap-
- Root: excepter
- Root: exceptus

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French excepter, from Latin exceptus.

## AI Etymology
Except is borrowed from Middle French excepter, from Latin exceptus. In current use, the main senses are “Not including; apart from” and “Used to introduce the only thing that makes a statement not completely true”. Its deeper ancestry includes Proto-Indo-European *kap-.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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