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excuse me

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ex⋅cuse

  [v. ik-skyooz; n. ik-skyoos] verb, -cused, -cus⋅ing, noun
Use excuse me in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to regard or judge with forgiveness or indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.): Excuse his bad manners.
2. to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of: He excused his absence by saying that he was ill.
3. to serve as an apology or justification for; justify: Ignorance of the law excuses no one.
4. to release from an obligation or duty: to be excused from jury duty.
5. to seek or obtain exemption or release for (oneself): to excuse oneself from a meeting.
6. to refrain from exacting; remit; dispense with: to excuse a debt.
7. to allow (someone) to leave: If you'll excuse me, I have to make a telephone call.
–noun
8. an explanation offered as a reason for being excused; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or for release from an obligation, promise, etc.: His excuse for being late was unacceptable.
9. a ground or reason for excusing or being excused: Ignorance is no excuse.
10. the act of excusing someone or something.
11. a pretext or subterfuge: He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility.
12. an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified: That coward is barely an excuse for a man. Her latest effort is a poor excuse for a novel.
—Idiom
13. Excuse me, (used as a polite expression, as when addressing a stranger, when interrupting or disagreeing with someone, or to request repetition of what has just been said.)
Origin:
1175–1225; (v.) ME escusen < OF escuser < L excūsāre to put outside, exonerate, equiv. to ex- ex- 1 + -cūsāre, deriv. of causa cause; (n.) ME escuse < OF, deriv. of escuser; modern sp. with ex- on the model of ex- 1

Related forms:
ex⋅cus⋅a⋅ble, adjective
ex⋅cus⋅a⋅ble⋅ness, noun
ex⋅cus⋅a⋅bly, adverb
ex⋅cus⋅al, noun
ex⋅cuse⋅less, adjective
ex⋅cus⋅er, noun
ex⋅cus⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
ex⋅cus⋅ive, adjective
ex⋅cus⋅ive⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. Excuse, forgive, pardon imply being lenient or giving up the wish to punish. Excuse means to overlook some (usually) slight offense: to excuse bad manners. Forgive is applied to excusing more serious offenses: to forgive and forget. Pardon usually applies to a specific act of lenience or mercy by an official or superior: The governor was asked to pardon the condemned criminal. 3. extenuate, palliate. 4. free. 8. justification. Excuse, apology both imply an explanation of some failure or failing. Excuse implies a desire to avoid punishment or rebuke. Apology usually implies acknowledgment that one has been in the wrong. 11. pretense, evasion, makeshift.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ex·cuse   (ĭk-skyōōz')   
tr.v.   ex·cused, ex·cus·ing, ex·cus·es

    1. To explain (a fault or an offense) in the hope of being forgiven or understood: He arrived late and excused his tardiness in a flimsy manner.

    2. To apologize for (oneself) for an act that could cause offense: She excused herself for being late.

    3. To grant pardon to; forgive: We quickly excused the latecomer.

    4. To make allowance for; overlook: Readers must excuse the author's youth and inexperience. See Synonyms at forgive.

    1. To grant pardon to; forgive: We quickly excused the latecomer.

    2. To make allowance for; overlook: Readers must excuse the author's youth and inexperience. See Synonyms at forgive.

  3. To serve as justification for: Brilliance does not excuse bad manners.

  4. To free, as from an obligation or duty; exempt: In my state, physicians and lawyers are excused from jury duty.

  5. To give permission to leave; release: The child ate quickly and asked to be excused.

n.   (ĭk-skyōōs')

  1. An explanation offered to justify or obtain forgiveness.

  2. A reason or grounds for excusing: Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law.

  3. The act of excusing.

  4. A note explaining an absence.

  5. Informal An inferior example: a poor excuse for a poet; a sorry excuse for a car.


[Middle English excusen, from Old French excuser, from Latin excūsāre : ex-, ex- + causa, accusation; see cause.]
ex·cus'a·ble adj., ex·cus'a·ble·ness n., ex·cus'a·bly adv., ex·cus'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

excuse  (v.)
c.1225, "to clear (someone) from blame," from O.Fr. escuser, from L. excusare "release from a charge," from ex- "out, away" + causa "accusation, legal action" (see cause). Meaning "to obtain exemption or release" is from 1340; that of "to accept another's plea of excuse" is from c.1325. The noun sense of "that which is offered as a reason for being excused" is recorded from c.1500. Excuse me as a mild apology or statement of polite disagreement is from 1606.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ex·cuse
Pronunciation: ik-'skyüs
Function: noun
1 : EXCUSAL
2 a : a circumstance that allows for release under the law from an obligation, duty, or contractual liability —compare ACT OF GOD, FORCE MAJEURE, FORTUITOUS EVENT, IMPOSSIBILITY OF PERFORMANCE b : a circumstance (as a physical threat) that grants immunity for otherwise tortious or criminal conduct —compare JUSTIFICATION, PRIVILEGE
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

excuse me

  1. Also, I beg your pardon, pardon me. Forgive me, as in Excuse me, please let me pass, or Pardon me for asking, or I beg your pardon, I don't think so. These phrases are used as an apology for interrupting a conversation, bumping into someone, asking a speaker to repeat something, politely disagreeing with something said, and so on. The first dates from about 1600, the first variant from about 1800, the second from the mid-1700s.

  2. Also, excuse oneself. Allow or ask to leave or be released from an obligation. For example, Please excuse me, I have to leave now, or I asked the judge to excuse me from jury duty. [1920s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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