excuse

noun
UK: /ɪkˈskjuːz/
US: /ɪkˈskjuːs/

  1. A reason, either true or invented, that you give to explain why you did something wrong.

    1. I don't want to hear any more excuses. [ ] [ ]
    2. His excuse for being late was that he missed the bus, but nobody believed him because the buses run frequently. [ ] [ ]

  2. Something offered as justification; an attempt to avoid blame.

    1. That’s a poor excuse for bad behavior. [ ] [ ]
    2. The company offered the recent economic downturn as an excuse for the project's failure to meet its deadlines. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

absolve reason explanation justification pardon forgive
excuse transitive-verb

  1. To forgive someone for something.

    1. Please excuse me, I must leave. [ ] [ ]
    2. Can you excuse his behavior? He has been under a lot of pressure at work lately. [ ] [ ]

  2. To try to make something that you have done seem less bad by offering an explanation.

    1. Don't excuse your mistakes; learn from them. [ ] [ ]
    2. He tried to excuse his lateness by claiming the traffic was unusually heavy, which made his story more plausible. [ ] [ ]
excuse intransitive-verb

  1. To offer an apology or justification for oneself.

    1. Please excuse me for interrupting. [ ] [ ]
    2. I must excuse myself from the table to take this urgent call, hopefully I will be back shortly. [ ] [ ]
excuse interjection

  1. Used to politely ask someone to move so you can pass.

    1. Excuse me, please, I need to get through. [ ] [ ]
    2. Excuse me, are you waiting in line? I just need to quickly grab something off the shelf. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "excuse" in English means: A reason, either true or invented, that you give to explain why you did something wrong., Something offered as justification; an attempt to avoid blame..

The phonetic transcription of "excuse" is /ɪkˈskjuːz/ in British English and /ɪkˈskjuːs/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "excuse": absolve, reason, explanation, justification, pardon, forgive.

Example usage of "excuse": "I don't want to hear any more excuses.". More examples on the page.