Surplus

/ˈsɝˌplʌs/ · noun

Meaning

That which remains when use or need is satisfied, or when a limit is reached; excess; overplus; overage..

Definitions by Sense

1. That which remains when use or need is satisfied, or when a limit is reached; excess; overplus; overage.
2. Specifically, an amount in the public treasury at any time greater than is required for the ordinary purposes of the government.
3. (law) The remainder of a fund appropriated for a particular purpose.
4. (law) assets left after liabilities and debts, including capital stock have been deducted.
5. Being or constituting a surplus; more than sufficient.
6. (transitive) To treat as surplus to requirements; to sell off or dismiss from employment, etc.

Example Sentences

surplus population

surplus words

The latest shipment of goods is surplus to our needs.

But to return to where we left her, I see her still, propped up in a kind of stupor against one of the walls in which this wretched edifice abounds, her long grey greasy hair framing in its cowl of scrofulous mats a face where pallor, languor, hunger, acne, recent dirt, immemorial chagrin and surplus hair seemed to dispute the mastery.

An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.

This employee was engaged to direct asphalt plants and inasmuch as the work for which he had been employed was completed, he was surplused and his return travel was approved […]

Synonyms for surplus

Antonyms for surplus

Related Words

Word Forms

• surpluses
• surplusses
• surplusing
• surplussing
• surplused
• surplussed

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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