You use except to introduce the only thing or person that a statement does not apply to, or a fact that preventsa statement from being completely true.
I wouldn't have accepted anything except a job in Europe.
I don't take any drugs whatsoever, except aspirin for colds.
Children who take exams early will be allowed to drop a subject except in the caseof maths, English and science.
Except is also a conjunction.
Freddie would tell me nothing about what he was writing, except that it was to bea Christmas play.
The log cabin stayed empty, except when we came.
Ida would not speak to him except to answer questions.
Nothing more to do now except wait.
2.
See except for
More Synonyms of except
except in British English
(ɪkˈsɛpt)
preposition
1. Also: except for
other than; apart from; with the exception of
he likes everyone except you
except for this mistake, you did very well
2. except that
conjunction
3. an archaic word for unless
4. informal
except that; but for the fact that
I would have arrived earlier, except I lost my way
verb
5. (transitive)
to leave out; omit; exclude
6. (intransitive; often foll byto) rare
to take exception; object
Word origin
C14: from Old French excepter to leave out, from Latin exceptāre, from excipere to take out, from capere to take
except in American English
(ɛkˈsɛpt; ɪkˈsɛpt)
verb transitive
1.
to leave out or take out; make an exception of; exclude; omit
verb intransitive
2. Rare
to object; take exception
with to or against
to except to a remark
preposition
3.
leaving out; omitting; other than; but
to everyone except me
conjunction
4. Archaic
unless
5. Informal
were it not true; only
often followed by that
I'd quit except that I need the money
6.
otherwise than
she doesn't leave home except to attend church
Idioms:
except for
Word origin
ME excepten < OFr excepter < L exceptare, to take out, except < exceptus, pp. of excipere < ex-, out + capere, to take: see have
Examples of 'except' in a sentence
except
I won't spoil the climax except to say he manages somehow.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Which is true in most cases except this one.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Except possibly not in front of eight thousand people.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They feared being stuck in geographical groupings where they would share little in common except neighborhood.
Christianity Today (2000)
Not much can be done about the past cases except to grant them leave to stay.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
She had not slept except for tiny little naps during all that time.
Tepper, Sheri S. A Plague of Angels (1993)
Fighters on their own could do little damage except to other fighters.
Patrick Bishop FIGHTER BOYS: Saving Britain 1940 (2003)
The company has done very little except deliver impressive results through the booming and busting of the technology cycle.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Except she says it wasn't like that at all.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He who ignores thy least command, what should teach him except thy pardon?
Travers, P L What the Bee Knows - reflections on myth, symbol and story (1989)
Except in this case, the stalker was his dad.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Except in many cases it's not their neighbours.
The Sun (2010)
But the two really share little in common except a loathing of Cambridge.
The Times Literary Supplement (2011)
So we have no interests in common, there is little to discuss except what she wants for lunch.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It will not single out anyone as a successor to a bishop or archbishop except in rare cases when the incumbent is obviously old or very ill.
Peter F. Drucker MANAGEMENT: task, responsibilities, practices (1974)
Except in the case of conviction for a criminal offence, there is no mechanism for removing them except at the ballot box.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
There is no objective way of explaining this drama except to say that it was a huge moment of forgetfulness, a mental lapse.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Except to say that I got through the first eight steps intact.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Well, possibly - except for two teeny details.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It is not the sort of football that hurts anyone - except possibly Newcastle.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Except, possibly, the absence of the goalkeeper.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We don't know them, except to say hello.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
As for the fish, what can you say except that it's as fresh as it is possible to be?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Possibly, except that relying on TV to build a sport is a dangerous game.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
except
British English: except /ɪkˈsɛpt/ PREPOSITION
You use except or except for to show that you are not counting something or somebody.
The shops are open every day except Sunday.
American English: except
Arabic: مَا عَدَا
Brazilian Portuguese: exceto
Chinese: 除了...之外
Croatian: osim
Czech: kromě
Danish: bortset fra
Dutch: met uitzondering van
European Spanish: excepto
Finnish: paitsi
French: sauf
German: außer
Greek: εκτός από
Italian: eccetto
Japanese: ･･･を除いては
Korean: ...을 제외하고
Norwegian: unntatt
Polish: z wyjątkiem
European Portuguese: exceto
Romanian: cu excepția
Russian: кроме
Latin American Spanish: excepto
Swedish: utom
Thai: นอกจาก
Turkish: hariç
Ukrainian: крім
Vietnamese: ngoại trừ
Chinese translation of 'except'
except
(ɪkˈsɛpt)
prep
(= apart from) 除了 (chúle)
except for除了 ... 外 (chúle ... wài)
except that ... 除了 ... (chúle ... )
except if/when ... 时(時)例外 ( ... shí lìwài)
(preposition)
Definition
not including
I don't fly, except for the occasional business trip.
Synonyms
apart from
but for
saving
bar
barring
excepting
other than
excluding
omitting
with the exception of
aside from
save (archaic)
not counting
exclusive of
(verb)
Definition
to leave out or exclude
Present company excepted, who is your favourite colleague?
Synonyms
exclude
We can't exclude the possibility of cancellation.
rule out
leave out
omit
Our apologies for omitting your name from the article.
disregard
He disregarded the advice of his executives.
pass over
Additional synonyms
in the sense of disregard
Definition
to give little or no attention to
He disregarded the advice of his executives.
Synonyms
ignore,
discount,
take no notice of,
overlook,
neglect,
pass over,
turn a blind eye to,
disobey,
laugh off,
make light of,
pay no attention to,
pay no heed to,
leave out of account,
brush aside or away
in the sense of omit
Definition
to fail to include
Our apologies for omitting your name from the article.