ex·cept
(ĭk-sĕpt́)
[Middle English, from Latin exceptus past participle of excipere, to exclude, ex-, ex-, + capere, to take.]
prep.
- With the exclusion of; other than; but: everyone except me.
conj.
- If it were not for the fact that; only. Often used with that: I would buy the suit, except that it costs too much.
- Otherwise than: They didn't open their mouths except to complain.
- Unless: “And ne'er throughout the year to church thou go'st/Except it be to pray against thy foes” (Shakespeare)
verb: -cept·ed, -cept·ing, -cepts.
transitive verb
- To leave out; exclude: An admission fee is charged, but children are excepted.
intransitive verb
- To object: Counsel excepted to the court's ruling.
idioms
- except for
- Were it not for: I would join you except for my cold.
usage note
Usage Note: Except in the sense of “with the exclusion of” or “other than” is generally viewed as a preposition, not a conjunction. Therefore, a personal pronoun that follows except should be in the objective case: No one except me knew it. Everyone had a ticket except her.
