excuse

From Wiktionary
excuse is one of the 1000 most common headwords.
except - excuse - exercise

Pronunciation[change]

verb
noun

Verb[change]

Plain form
excuse

Third-person singular
excuses

Past tense
excused

Past participle
excused

Present participle
excusing

  1. (transitive) You say, "excuse me" when you have done something rude,
  2. (transitive) You say, "excuse me" when you want to get someone's attention.
  3. (transitive) You say, "excuse me" when you want somebody to move.
  4. (transitive) You say, "excuse me" when you didn't hear somebody very well and you want them to repeat themselves.
  5. (transitive) If you excuse someone, you forgive them.
  6. (transitive) If you excuse someone, you allow them to avoid doing something.

Synonyms[change]

Noun[change]

Singular
excuse

Plural
excuses

  1. An excuse is a reason for not doing something or for doing something bad.
    There is no excuse for hitting your sister.
    Do you have an excuse for being late?