- 1to forgive someone for something that they have done, for example not being polite or making a small mistake excuse something Please excuse the mess. excuse somebody You must excuse my father—he's not always that rude. excuse somebody for something/for doing something I hope you'll excuse me for being so late. You can be excused for thinking that Ben is in charge (= he is not, but it is an easy mistake to make). excuse somebody doing something (formal) Excuse my interrupting you.
- 2excuse something excuse somebody/yourself (for something/for doing something) to make your or someone else's behavior seem less offensive by finding reasons for it synonym justify Nothing can excuse such rudeness.
- 3excuse somebody/yourself (from something) to allow someone to leave; to say in a polite way that you are leaving Now if you'll excuse me, I'm a very busy man. She excused herself and left the meeting early.
- 4[usually passive] excuse somebody (from something/from doing something) excuse somebody something to allow someone to not do something that they should normally do She was excused from giving evidence because of her age. Idioms
- 1used to politely get someone's attention, especially someone you do not know Excuse me, is this the way to the train station?
- 2used to politely ask someone to move so that you can get past them Excuse me, could you let me through?
- 3used to say that you are sorry for interrupting someone or behaving in a slightly rude way Guy sneezed loudly. “Excuse me,” he said.
- 4used to disagree politely with someone Excuse me, but I don't think that's true.
- 5used to politely tell someone that you are going to leave or talk to someone else “Excuse me for a moment,” she said and left the room.
- 6used to say sorry for pushing someone or doing something wrong Oh, excuse me. I didn't see you there.
- 7excuse me? used when you did not hear what someone said and you want them to repeat it
excuse
verbNAmE//ɪkˈskyuz//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they excuse he / she / it excuses
past simple excused
-ing form excusing
used to say that you are sorry for swearing
Check pronunciation: excuse