EXCUSE | Meaning In The Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of excuse in English excuseverb [ T ] uk /ɪkˈskjuːz/ us /ɪkˈskjuːz/ Add to word list Add to word list B1 to forgive someone or something: excuse someone for something/doing something Please excuse me for arriving late - the bus was delayed. Nothing can excuse that sort of behaviour. No amount of financial recompense can excuse the way in which the company carried out its policy. We cannot excuse him for these crimes. to allow someone not to do or attend something when they normally would have to: be excused from I asked the teacher if I could be excused from hockey practice as my knee still hurt.excuse someone/yourself from something/doing something Please excuse me from the rest of the meeting - I've just received a phone call that requires my immediate attention. You are excused—you may go.  excuse me A1 a polite way of attracting someone's attention, especially someone you do not know: Excuse me, does this bus go to Oxford Street? used to politely ask someone to move so that you can walk past them: Excuse me, can I just get past? used to tell someone politely that you are leaving: Excuse me a moment, I'll be with you shortly. A2 used to say sorry for something you have done by accident: Did I take your seat? Do excuse me. said before disagreeing with someone: Excuse me, but aren't you forgetting something? US (UK pardon?); (I beg your pardon?) used to politely ask someone to repeat something they have said because you have not heard it: Excuse me, I didn't quite hear what you said. See more

• Please excuse my stomach rumbling - I haven't eaten all day.
• I know you are tired, but I really can't excuse you for being so rude and selfish about this.
• She is almost too kind - always excusing their bad behaviour instead of dealing with it firmly.
• Her boss cannot excuse even the smallest error, although he himself is far from perfect.
• Will you excuse me? I've got to make a phone call.

Making & accepting apologies

• apologetic
• apologetically
• atone for something phrasal verb
• atonement
• beg
• bury
• bygone
• conciliatory
• crawl
• crawl back (to someone) idiom
• forge ahead phrasal verb
• forgive
• if you'll pardon the expression idiom
• pardon
• pardonably
• penance
• penitently
• repentance
• resolve your differences
• shred

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Allowing and permitting excusenoun [ C ] uk /ɪkˈskjuːs/ us /ɪkˈskjuːs/ B1 a reason that you give to explain why you did something wrong: good excuse He'd better have a good excuse for being late.excuse for They noted that she had a valid excuse for the administrative error.have an excuse I've never known him to miss a meeting - I'm sure he'll have an excuse.no excuse for There's no excuse for that sort of behaviour. the cause of something

• reasonI frankly don’t understand the reason for the delay.
• causeInvestigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire.
• rootWe need to get to the root of her problems.
• motiveThere seems to have been no motive for the murder.
• ground(s)On what grounds was she dismissed?

See more results » B1 a false reason that you give to explain why you do something: [ + to infinitive ] She was just looking for an excuse to call him.excuse for Any excuse for a holiday!  make your excuses UK to explain why you cannot be present somewhere: Please make my excuses at the meeting on Friday. See more  make excuses to give false reasons why you cannot do something: make excuses for You're always making excuses for not helping me. See more

• When I asked him why he was late, he gave me some excuse about having car trouble.
• I made up an excuse about having to look after the kids.
• I don't want to go tonight but I can't think up a good excuse.
• Whenever I ask him why his essay's late, he just comes out with the same old excuses.
• You're always making excuses for not helping me.

Reasons and explanations

• alibi
• argument
• argumentation
• ascribe something to something phrasal verb
• ascription
• ascriptive
• definition
• explain
• explication
• exposition
• extenuating
• extenuating circumstances
• extenuation
• rationalization
• reason
• rough guide
• scholium
• superflack
• talk
• talk your way out of something idiom

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Idiom

a miserable, poor, etc. excuse for something (Definition of excuse from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

excuse | American Dictionary

excuseverb [ T ] us /ɪkˈskjuz/

excuse verb [T] (FORGIVE)

Add to word list Add to word list to forgive someone: Please excuse me for being so late – there was a lot of traffic. It was hard to excuse him for treating me so badly.  excuse someone from To excuse someone from an activity is to give that person permission to stop doing it or not do it: I was excused from jury duty because I had to take care of my sick mother.

excusable

adjective us /ɪkˈskju·zə·bəl/ Considering her difficult childhood, her behavior is excusable.

Idiom

excuse me excusenoun [ C ] us /ɪkˈskjus/ the explanation given for bad behavior, absence, etc.: You’re always making excuses for not helping with the housework. (Definition of excuse from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

excuse | Business English

excusenoun [ C ]   HR   US uk /ɪkˈskjuːs/ us ( UK sick note) Add to word list Add to word list a letter from a doctor saying that someone is too ill to go to work (Definition of excuse from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of excuse

excuse None can be considered ' revisionist ' in elucidating an apologia for colonialism or in excusing sins of commission and omission for which the colonialists bore responsibility. From the Cambridge English Corpus Because of this, worthy men are entangled in regulations, and degenerates only make excuses. From the Cambridge English Corpus She covers him with cushions, and excuses herself, apparently to get undressed. From the Cambridge English Corpus He does not pay attention to the scientific background of each expedition, but this can be excused, as he is not a historian of science. From the Cambridge English Corpus The 1639 charter excused clerks 'from all offices, unless they desire or yield themselves thereunto'; such offices would presumably have been both civic and parochial. From the Cambridge English Corpus One of their excuses is that they have to control local pollution first. From the Cambridge English Corpus They also know that those who call them untranslatable are excusing themselves from engaging in acts of interpretation. From the Cambridge English Corpus If the wet-nurse was perceived as too poor, the fee was excused. From the Cambridge English Corpus Thus, excuses are an important component to a comprehensive understanding of the blame process. From the Cambridge English Corpus The excuses, however, retain their character as individualized concessions of mercy. From the Cambridge English Corpus His rules of conduct are stripped, inter alia, of any reference to a mental element or aggravating features, as well as to the excuses. From the Cambridge English Corpus By saying that he does not concern himself with feminism he excuses himself from having to acknowledge the power-effects of his own writing. From the Cambridge English Corpus Duress is (in some cases) an excusing condition. From the Cambridge English Corpus Any one of these excuses, if true, should lead to an acquittal. From the Cambridge English Corpus Let us call the defenses so grouped the broad excuses. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of excuse These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with excuse

excuse

These are words often used in combination with excuse.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

convenient excuseThis may sometimes serve as a convenient excuse for international inaction. From the Cambridge English Corpus   feeble excuseWith this feeble excuse, he assumes that he is explaining the faulty passages in bluebooks and papers, passages which are vague, even incoherent. From the Cambridge English Corpus   flimsy excuseThat is not so terrible in itself and it is a flimsy excuse for hurting many thousands with less than that. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0   These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. See all collocations with excuse What is the pronunciation of excuse?

Translations of excuse

in Chinese (Traditional) 原諒, 寬恕, （辯解的）理由，藉口… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 原谅, 宽恕, （辩解的）理由，借口… See more in Spanish disculpar, librar, excusa… See more in Portuguese desculpar, desculpa, justificativa… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian कोणाला तरी माफ करणे, आपण काहीतरी चुकीचे का केले हे स्पष्ट करण्यासाठी आपण दिलेले एक कारण… See more ～を許す, ～を免除される, （失敗などの）理由… See more affetmek, bağışlamak, görevden affetmek… See more excuse [feminine], prétexte [masculine], pardonner… See more disculpar, eximir, excusa… See more excuseren, vrijstellen, excuus… See more ஒருவரை மன்னிக்க, நீங்கள் ஏன் ஏதாவது தவறு செய்தீர்கள் என்பதை விளக்க நீங்கள் கொடுக்கும் ஒரு காரணம்… See more क्षमा करना, बहाना, सफाई देना… See more માફ કરવું, બહાનું… See more undskylde, fritage, undskyldning… See more förlåta, ursäkta, befria… See more maafkan, dikecualikan, alasan… See more entschuldigen, befreien, die Entschuldigung… See more unnskyldning [masculine], rettferdiggjørelse [masculine], grunn [masculine]… See more معاف کرنا, معافی, بہانہ… See more вибачати, прощати, звільняти… See more మన్నించు, ఒకరిని క్షమించటానికి, మీరు ఎందుకు తప్పు చేశారో వివరించడానికి మీరు ఇచ్చే కారణం… See more অজুহাত… See more omluvit, zprostit, omluva… See more memaafkan, membebaskan, dalih… See more ขอโทษ, อนุญาตให้ไป, ข้อแก้ตัว… See more tha thứ, miễn cho, lý do… See more wybaczać, zwalniać, usprawiedliwiać… See more 용서하다, 양해를 구하다, 변명… See more scusare, esentare, dispensare… See more Need a translator?

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excursus excusable excusably excusatory excuse excuse for something/doing something excuse me phrase excuse someone/yourself from something/doing something excuse/pardon my French! idiom {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of excuse

• flimsy excuse
• excuse for something/doing something
• excuse someone for something/doing something
• no excuse for something
• excuse someone/yourself from something/doing something
• excuse me idiom
• excuse me phrase

See all meanings

• excuse me idiom
• excuse me phrase
• excuse/pardon my French! idiom
• a miserable, poor, etc. excuse for something idiom

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

three-piece suit

UK /ˌθriː.piːs ˈsuːt/ US /ˌθriː.piːs ˈsuːt/

a matching jacket, trousers, and waistcoat (= a top without sleeves that is worn over a shirt) especially for men

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• English   
  • Verb 
    • excuse
    • excuse me
  • Noun 
    • excuse
    • make your excuses
    • make excuses
• American   
  • Verb 
    • excuse (FORGIVE)
    • excuse someone from
  • Adjective 
    • excusable
  Noun
• Business   Noun
• Examples
• Collocations

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