surplusnoun [ C or U ], adjective
uk/ˈsɜː.pləs/us/ˈsɝː.pləs/C2 (an amount that is) more than is needed:
The world is now producing large food surpluses.
We are unlikely to produce any surplus this year.
The government has authorized the army to sell its surplus weapons.
UK The store is selling off stock that is surplus to requirements (= more than they need to have).
the amount of money you have left when you sell more than you buy, or spend less than you own:
a budget/trade surplus
Fortunately the company's bank account is currently in surplus.
More examples
- A surplus of corn has helped depress the grain market.
- The chemical industry has a large and growing trade surplus.
- There is no surplus capacity in our transport system.
- We produce enough vegetables for our community, and any surplus is sold to local shops.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Too much and unnecessary
- a sledgehammer to crack a nut idiom
- avalanche
- be up to your neck (in sth) idiom
- bellyful
- binge
- carry/take coals to Newcastle idiom
- hyper
- immoderate
- inessential
- insatiable
- lousy
- overdose
- play gooseberry idiom
- plenty
- plethora
- proliferate
- redundancy
- sock
- supplementary
- weigh
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Amounts of money