Definition of "excess" []

• The state of exceeding what is normal or sufficient: rains that filled the reservoirs to excess. (noun)
• An amount or quantity beyond what is normal or sufficient; a surplus. (noun)
• The amount or degree by which one quantity exceeds another: Profit is the excess of sales over costs. (noun)
• Intemperance; overindulgence: drank to excess. (noun)
• A behavior or an action that exceeds proper or lawful bounds: tried to avoid engaging in emotional excesses such as hysteria and fits of temper. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Anything in excess is bad and that means our children should learn there is time for play time (with real toys not some console), video game time, reading time, TV time and general do nothing time."
• "No surprise then that Wal-Mart Realty currently has 145 empty buildings on its hands -- what they call "excess property," totaling a staggering 12.6 million square feet of dead stores."
• "Japan has repeatedly said it would intervene to stop what it termed excess volatility and has said the yen's strength near postwar highs against the dollar wasn't warranted by the fundamentals of the Japanese economy."