excuse me

interjection
UK: /ɪkˈskjuːz miː/
US: /ɪkˈskjuːz miː/

  1. Used to politely interrupt someone or ask them to move.

    1. Excuse me, is this seat free? [ ] [ ]
    2. Excuse me, I need to get past you to reach the exit, please move a bit. [ ] [ ]

  2. Used to politely disagree with or correct someone.

    1. Excuse me, but I think you're mistaken. [ ] [ ]
    2. Excuse me, with all due respect, that's not quite how it happened, based on my understanding. [ ] [ ]

  3. Used to apologize for a minor offense, like burping or accidentally bumping into someone.

    1. Excuse me, I didn't mean to do that. [ ] [ ]
    2. Excuse me, I apologize for bumping into you; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. [ ] [ ]

  4. Used to politely get someone's attention.

    1. Excuse me, can you help me? [ ] [ ]
    2. Excuse me, I wonder if you could possibly direct me to the nearest bus stop please? [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

pardon forgive me sorry
excuse me transitive-verb

  1. To forgive (someone) for a fault or error.

    1. Please excuse me for being late. [ ] [ ]
    2. Could you excuse me from the meeting; I have a prior engagement that I must attend. [ ] [ ]

  2. To allow (someone) to leave; to give permission to depart.

    1. You are excused from the table. [ ] [ ]
    2. The teacher excused me early because I wasn't feeling very well at the end of the day. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "excuse me" in English means: Used to politely interrupt someone or ask them to move., Used to politely disagree with or correct someone., Used to apologize for a minor offense, like burping or accidentally bumping into someone., Used to politely get someone's attention..

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

Synonyms for "excuse me": pardon, forgive me, sorry.

Example usage of "excuse me": "Excuse me, is this seat free?". More examples on the page.