excess

Universal Words noun, adjective noun 1 [sing.,U] ~ (of sth) more than is necessary, reasonable or acceptable: Are you suffering from an excess of stress in your life? * In an excess of enthusiasm I agreed to work late. * You can throw away any excess. * He started drinking to excess after losing his job. * The increase will not be in excess of (= more than) two per cent. 2 [C,U] an amount by which sth is larger than sth else: We cover costs up to ｣600 and then you pay the excess. 3 (excesses) [pl.] extreme behaviour that is unacceptable, illegal or immoral: We need a free press to curb government excesses. * legislation to control the worst excesses of the press and the courts in relation to rape cases adjective [onlybeforenoun] in addition to an amount that is necessary, usual or legal: Excess food is stored as fat. * Driving with excess alcohol in the blood is a serious offence. * The book is hard to obtain, because of excess demand following the author's appearance on TV.