except
[preposition]
Synonyms:
- apart from, barring, besides, but, excepting, excluding, omitting, other than, saving, with the exception of
[verb]
Synonyms:
- exclude, leave out, omit, pass over

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Antonyms: admit
Contrasted words: incorporate, receive, work in
Related Words: omit, pass over, exempt, reject

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English Thesaurus: except, apart from/aside from, excluding/not including, with the exception of, but, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. ex‧cept¹ S2 W2 /ɪkˈsept/ conjunction, preposition

1. used to introduce the only person, thing, action, fact, or situation about which a statement is not true:
The office is open every day except Sundays.
You can have any of the cakes except this one.
except for
Everyone went except for Scott and Dan.
She felt fine except for being a little tired.
except (that)
Clarissa could think of nothing to say except that she was so sorry.
except in/by/to etc
Staff are not permitted to make personal phone calls except in an emergency.
except when/where/if
Benson kept the studio locked except when he was working there.
except do something
She had nothing to do except spend money.
except to do something
He wouldn’t talk about work, except to say that he was busy.

2. used to give the reason why something was not done or did not happen
except (that)
Liz would have run, except that she didn’t want to appear to be in a hurry.

3. spoken used to mention a fact that makes what you have just said seem less true
except (that)
I have earrings just like those, except they’re blue.
A date book would make a great gift, except that a lot of people already have one.


GRAMMAR
Do not say 'except of something' or 'except from something'.
Except is not used by itself to introduce a clause. Use unless or except when/where/if:
We won’t go unless you really want to (NOT except you really want to).
I cycle to work, except when it rains (NOT except it rains).

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. except² verb [transitive]
formal to not include something
except something from something
High technology equipment would be excepted from any trade agreement.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

except
preposition
1.
BAD: Except smoke and traffic fumes, there are several other types of pollution.
GOOD: Besides smoke and traffic fumes, there are several other types of pollution.

Usage Note:
except = not including; but not: 'She eats everything except fish.'
besides = in addition to: 'Besides football, he also plays tennis and badminton.'

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2.
BAD: The old lady never spoke to anyone except someone came to visit her.
GOOD: The old lady never spoke to anyone unless someone came to visit her.
GOOD: The old lady never spoke to anyone except when someone came to visit her.

Usage Note:
Except (a preposition) cannot be followed by a clause that has a finite verb ('came'). Use unless (a conjunction) or except when, except while, except if, except that : 'Americans are just like any other people in the world, except that they are more tolerant.' 'He tends to ignore me except when he needs something.'

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3.
BAD: I had never really spoken to him except saying hello.
GOOD: I had never really spoken to him except to say hello.

Usage Note:
When you are talking about purpose, use except + to-v: 'I rarely go the market, except to buy vegetables.'

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4.
BAD: They want nothing except seeing that the children are happy.
GOOD: They want nothing except to see that the children are happy.
BAD: My brother is good at everything except to wash the dishes.
GOOD: My brother is good at everything except washing the dishes.

Usage Note:
The choice of verb form after except is sometimes determined by a word that comes earlier in the sentence, e.g. want + to-v, good at + v-ing.

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5.
BAD: In their free time they do nothing except going from one cafeteria to another.
GOOD: In their free time they do nothing except go from one cafeteria to another.
BAD: She was willing to do anything except to tell me her name.
GOOD: She was willing to do anything except tell me her name.

Usage Note:
do (anything/nothing/what you like etc) + except + bare infinitive: 'There was nothing I could do except sit and wait.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

except used when saying that a statement does not include a particular person or thing. At the beginning of a sentence, you must use except for, not just except, before a noun:
The office is open every day except Sundays.
Except for a man walking his dog, the park was empty.
Most of the critics liked the play, except for one critic on the 'Los Angeles Times'.
Except for a few years in the early sixties and seventies, inflation has been a continuing feature of American life since World War II.
The area looks very much like the state of Iowa, except that it is surrounded by beautiful snow-covered mountains.
Except in an emergency, these doors must remain closed.
apart from/aside from used when mentioning one or two things that do not fit the main thing that you are saying:
Aside from one or two minor errors, this is an excellent piece of research.
The films were all made in Hollywood, apart from one, which was made in the UK.
The weather was not very good in the first week. Apart from that, it was a good holiday.
excluding/not including used when saying that something, especially a total number or amount, does not include a particular thing or person. Excluding is more formal than not including:
The software costs $49.95, not including tax.
Excluding students, the total number of unemployed rose from 2 million to 2.3 million.
with the exception of formal except for one particular person or thing:
Denmark has more wind turbines than any other place in the world, with the exception of California.
With the exception of skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women.
but used especially after words such as nothing, all, any, anyone, everything or everyone when saying that something is the only thing, or someone is the only person:
There is nothing but trees, for mile after mile.
The garment covers everything but the eyes.
All but a few of her family died of the disease.
save formal used for mentioning the only person or thing which is not included in what you are saying:
Every man she had ever loved, save her father, was now dead.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

save to gradually collect money by not spending all the money you have, especially when you regularly put some of it in a bank:
She doesn’t earn much, but she still manages to save a few dollars each week.
We’re saving for a deposit to buy a house.
set/put aside to regularly save part of the money you earn, especially over a long period of time:
You should start setting aside part of your earnings as retirement savings.
scrimp and save to try to save money by spending less on the things you need and by saving what you can, especially when you do not earn very much:
My parents scrimped and saved for years to send me to college.
squirrel something away informal to keep something, especially money, in a safe place to be used later:
I wanted to surprise her, so I squirreled away a couple of dollars a week to spend on a present.
economize to spend less money by buying only the things that you really need, or by buying cheaper things:
Weddings can be expensive, but you can economize by doing some things yourself.
start up/boot up to make a computer start working:
I’m having problems starting up my computer.
log on/in to start using a computer system by typing your name and password:
He logged on and read his emails.
click on something to press a button on a computer mouse to choose a program, file etc from the screen:
When you click on the link, it sends you to the company’s website.
install to add new software to a computer so that the software is ready to be used:
All users should install anti-virus software.
download to move information, pictures, or music from the Internet onto your computer:
You can download MP3 files.
upload to move information, pictures, or music from your computer to a different computer across the Internet:
Sites such as YouTube allow you to upload your own videos.
open to make a file or program ready to use:
Open a new file and type in the information.
scroll up/down to move information on a computer screen up or down so that you can read it:
Scroll down to read the questions and answers.
enter to type information into a computer:
The program requires you to enter a password.
delete to remove information from a computer:
I’ve deleted his email.
When you delete a file, it first gets moved to the recycle bin.
cut and paste to remove information from one place and put it in another place:
Tutors are looking out for students who cut and paste their essays from the Internet.
save to make a computer keep the work that you have done on it:
Make sure you save any work you do before you shut the computer down.
close to stop having a file or program ready to use:
To close the window, click on the ‘X’ in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
log off/out to stop using a computer system by giving it particular instructions:
I get an error message when I log off.
shut down to make a computer stop working:
Employees should shut their computers down at the end of each day.
restart/reboot to make a computer start working again:
Wait a few minutes before rebooting your computer.
except used when saying that a statement does not include a particular person or thing. At the beginning of a sentence, you must use except for, not just except, before a noun:
The office is open every day except Sundays.
Except for a man walking his dog, the park was empty.
Most of the critics liked the play, except for one critic on the 'Los Angeles Times'.
Except for a few years in the early sixties and seventies, inflation has been a continuing feature of American life since World War II.
The area looks very much like the state of Iowa, except that it is surrounded by beautiful snow-covered mountains.
Except in an emergency, these doors must remain closed.
apart from/aside from used when mentioning one or two things that do not fit the main thing that you are saying:
Aside from one or two minor errors, this is an excellent piece of research.
The films were all made in Hollywood, apart from one, which was made in the UK.
The weather was not very good in the first week. Apart from that, it was a good holiday.
excluding/not including used when saying that something, especially a total number or amount, does not include a particular thing or person. Excluding is more formal than not including:
The software costs $49.95, not including tax.
Excluding students, the total number of unemployed rose from 2 million to 2.3 million.
with the exception of formal except for one particular person or thing:
Denmark has more wind turbines than any other place in the world, with the exception of California.
With the exception of skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women.
but used especially after words such as nothing, all, any, anyone, everything or everyone when saying that something is the only thing, or someone is the only person:
There is nothing but trees, for mile after mile.
The garment covers everything but the eyes.
All but a few of her family died of the disease.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲