surplus
/ˈsɝˌplʌs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.87 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
That which remains when use or need is satisfied, or when a limit is reached; excess; overplus; overage.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Specifically, an amount in the public treasury at any time greater than is required for the ordinary purposes of the government.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
assets left after liabilities and debts, including capital stock have been deducted.
Countable; Uncountable
adj
Being or constituting a surplus; more than sufficient.
verb
To treat as surplus to requirements; to sell off or dismiss from employment, etc.
Transitive verb
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 […]"
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *pleh₁-, surplus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɝˌplʌs/
- British English: /ˈsɜːpləs/