Standard Lemma guide

surplus

adj · noun · verb · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈsɝˌplʌs/
  • General-American: /ˈsɝpləs/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈsɜːpləs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: surplice (one pronunciation)
  • CMU ARPABET: S ER1 P L AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Being or constituting a surplus; more than sufficient.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • surplus population
  • surplus words
  • The latest shipment of goods is surplus to our needs.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: excess, offcut

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: overquantity, oversum, superabundance, abundance, acrasia, acrasy, excess, excessiveness, exuberance, copiousness, fecundity, fertileness, fertility, fruitfulness, fulth, glut, immoderation, incontinence, intemperance, mountain, nimiety, overabundance, overage, overflow, overplus, plenteousness, plentifulness, plenty, plethora, productiveness, profusion, superaddition, superfluity, superfluousness, superflux, superplus, surfeit, surplus, surplusage, uberty, ug

Antonyms: deficit, lack, shortage

3

noun

Meaning 3

Specifically, an amount in the public treasury at any time greater than is required for the ordinary purposes of the government.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The remainder of a fund appropriated for a particular purpose.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

assets left after liabilities and debts, including capital stock have been deducted.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To treat as surplus to requirements; to sell off or dismiss from employment, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

more than is needed, desired, or required

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • trying to lose excess weight
  • found some extra change lying on the dresser
  • yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant
  • skills made redundant by technological advance
  • sleeping in the spare room
  • supernumerary ornamentation
  • it was supererogatory of her to gloat
  • delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words
  • extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts
  • surplus cheese distributed to the needy

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: excess, extra, redundant, spare, supererogatory, superfluous, supernumerary

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

a quantity much larger than is needed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: excess, surplusage, nimiety

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: overabundance, overmuch, overmuchness, superabundance

History

Etymology

From Middle English surplus, from Middle French surplus. Compare French surplus.

Across languages

Translations

115 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: излишен (izlišen) — being a surplus
  • Bulgarian: добавъчен (dobavǎčen) — being a surplus
  • Finnish: ylijäämä- — being a surplus
  • Finnish: ylimääräinen — being a surplus
  • French: excédentaire — being a surplus
  • Greek: πλεονάζων (pleonázon) — being a surplus
  • Greek: παραπανήσιος (parapanísios) — being a surplus
  • Hindi: अतिरिक्त (atirikt) — being a surplus
  • Hungarian: felesleges — being a surplus
  • Hungarian: többlet- — being a surplus
  • Macedonian: и́злишен (ízlišen) — being a surplus
  • Macedonian: о́двишен (ódvišen) — being a surplus
  • Māori: tuhene — being a surplus
  • Norwegian Bokmål: overflødig — being a surplus
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: overflødig — being a surplus
  • Portuguese: excedente — being a surplus
  • Russian: профицит (proficit) — being a surplus
  • Sanskrit: अतिरेक (atireka) — being a surplus
  • Spanish: sobrante — being a surplus
  • Spanish: excedente — being a surplus
  • Spanish: excedentario — being a surplus
  • Thai: ส่วนเกิน (sùuan-gəən) — being a surplus
  • Ottoman Turkish: آرتق (artık) — being a surplus
  • Albanian: tepricë — excess, overplus
  • Arabic: فَائِض (fāʔiḍ) — excess, overplus
  • Azerbaijani: artıq — excess, overplus
  • Belarusian: лі́шак (líšak) — excess, overplus
  • Belarusian: лі́шніца (líšnica) — excess, overplus
  • Belarusian: лі́шка (líška) — excess, overplus
  • Belarusian: надме́р (nadmjér) — excess, overplus
  • Bulgarian: изли́шък (izlíšǎk) — excess, overplus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 過剩 /过剩 (guòshèng) — excess, overplus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 多餘 /多余 (duōyú) — excess, overplus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 盈餘 /盈余 (yíngyú) — excess, overplus
  • Czech: přebytek — excess, overplus
  • Czech: nadbytek — excess, overplus
  • Danish: overskud — excess, overplus
  • Dutch: overschot — excess, overplus
  • Dutch: surplus — excess, overplus
  • Esperanto: pluso — excess, overplus
  • Finnish: ylijäämä — excess, overplus
  • French: surplus — excess, overplus
  • Georgian: სიჭარბე (sič̣arbe) — excess, overplus
  • German: Überschuss — excess, overplus
  • German: Rest — excess, overplus
  • Greek: πλεόνασμα (pleónasma) — excess, overplus
  • Hebrew: עודף — excess, overplus
  • Hebrew: עֹדֶף ('ódef) — excess, overplus
  • Hindi: अतिरिक्त (atirikt) — excess, overplus
  • Hindi: अधिशेष (adhiśeṣ) — excess, overplus
  • Hungarian: fölösleg — excess, overplus
  • Hungarian: felesleg — excess, overplus
  • Hungarian: többlet — excess, overplus
  • Hungarian: maradék — excess, overplus
  • Irish: brabach — excess, overplus
  • Irish: fuílleach — excess, overplus
  • Italian: surplus — excess, overplus
  • Japanese: 余り (amari) — excess, overplus
  • Japanese: 余剰 (yojō) — excess, overplus
  • Korean: 잉여 (ing'yeo) — excess, overplus
  • Korean: 과잉 (gwaing) — excess, overplus
  • Korean: 잔여 (janyeo) — excess, overplus
  • Korean: 흑자 (heukja) — excess, overplus
  • Macedonian: ви́шок (víšok) — excess, overplus
  • Māori: tuhene — excess, overplus
  • Māori: tuwhene — excess, overplus
  • Māori: hemihemi — excess, overplus
  • Norwegian Bokmål: overskudd — excess, overplus
  • Old English: oferēaca — excess, overplus
  • Persian: مازاد (mâzâd) — excess, overplus
  • Plautdietsch: Äwafluss — excess, overplus
  • Polish: nadmiar — excess, overplus
  • Polish: nadwyżka — excess, overplus
  • Portuguese: excesso — excess, overplus
  • Portuguese: excedente — excess, overplus
  • Romanian: surplus — excess, overplus
  • Russian: изли́шек (izlíšek) — excess, overplus
  • Russian: избы́ток (izbýtok) — excess, overplus
  • Serbo-Croatian: ви́шак — excess, overplus
  • Serbo-Croatian: víšak — excess, overplus
  • Slovak: prebytok — excess, overplus
  • Slovak: nadbytok — excess, overplus
  • Slovene: višek — excess, overplus
  • Spanish: sobra — excess, overplus
  • Spanish: excedente — excess, overplus
  • Spanish: exceso — excess, overplus
  • Spanish: residuo — excess, overplus
  • Spanish: superávit — excess, overplus
  • Swedish: överskott — excess, overplus
  • Tagalog: labis — excess, overplus
  • Thai: ส่วนเกิน (sùuan-gəən) — excess, overplus
  • Tocharian B: atirek — excess, overplus
  • Turkish: artık — excess, overplus
  • Ukrainian: надли́шок (nadlýšok) — excess, overplus
  • Ukrainian: ли́шок (lýšok) — excess, overplus
  • Ukrainian: на́дмір (nádmir) — excess, overplus
  • Armenian: հավելուրդ (havelurd) — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Catalan: superàvit — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Finnish: ylijäämä — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • French: excédentaire — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Greek: πλεόνασμα (pleónasma) — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Greek: περίσσευμα (períssevma) — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Hindi: अधिशेष (adhiśeṣ) — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Hungarian: többlet — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Hungarian: maradvány — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Hungarian: maradványkeret — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Japanese: 剰余金 (jōyokin) — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Macedonian: суфици́т (suficít) — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Old English: oferēaca — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Portuguese: excedente — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Portuguese: superávit — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Russian: профици́т (proficít) — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Spanish: superávit — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Swedish: överskott — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
  • Tagalog: labis — funds in public treasury greater than ordinary needs
Real reading context

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