excuse someone

excuse someone
excuse someone
1. to forgive someone. (Usually with

me.

Said when interrupting or when some other minor offense has been committed. There are many mannerly uses of this expression.) •

John came in late and said, “Excuse me, please.”

•

John said “excuse me” when he interrupted our conversation.

•

When John made a strange noise at the table, he said quietly, “Excuse me.”

•

John suddenly left the room saying, “Excuse me. I'll be right back.”

2. to permit someone to leave; to permit someone to remain away from an event. •

The coach excused John from practice yesterday.

•

The teacher excused John, and he ran quickly from the room.


Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • excuse — ex|cuse1 [ ık skjuz ] verb transitive ** 1. ) to forgive someone for something bad they have done, especially something that is not very serious: Please excuse my messy handwriting. excuse someone for (doing) something: I hope you ll excuse us… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • excuse — ♦♦♦ excuses, excusing, excused (The noun is pronounced [[t]ɪkskju͟ːs[/t]]. The verb is pronounced [[t]ɪkskju͟ːz[/t]].) 1) N COUNT: oft N for n/ ing, N to inf An excuse is a reason which you give in order to explain why something has been done or… …   English dictionary

  • excuse */*/ — I UK [ɪkˈskjuːs] / US [ɪkˈskjus] noun [countable] Word forms excuse : singular excuse plural excuses 1) a reason that you give to explain why you have done something bad, or why you have not done something that you should have done a… …   English dictionary

  • excuse me — An expression used as an apology for any slight or apparent impropriety, esp as a request to pass, leave, interrupt or catch someone s attention or for contradicting a statement that has been made, or (US) when correcting oneself • • • Main Entry …   Useful english dictionary

  • excuse — ► VERB 1) seek or serve to justify (a fault or offence). 2) release from a duty or requirement. 3) forgive (a fault or a person committing one). 4) (used in polite formulas) allow (someone) to leave a room or gathering. 5) (excuse oneself) say… …   English terms dictionary

  • excuse me — ► excuse me 1) a polite apology. 2) chiefly N. Amer. used to ask someone to repeat what they have just said. Main Entry: ↑excuse …   English terms dictionary

  • excuse my ignorance — phrase used for asking a question that someone might expect you to know the answer to Thesaurus: ways of saying that you do not know or understandsynonym Main entry: excuse …   Useful english dictionary

  • excuse — UK US /ɪkˈskjuːs/ noun [C] US (UK sick note) HR ► a letter from a doctor saying that someone is too ill to go to work …   Financial and business terms

  • excuse — ex|cuse1 S2 [ıkˈskju:z] v [T] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1 excuse me 2¦(forgive)¦ 3¦(from a duty)¦ 4¦(explain)¦ 5¦(from a place)¦ 6 excuse yourself 7 excuse me (for living)! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Date: 1400 1500; : Old French; Origin: excuser, from …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • excuse — 1 verb (T) 1 excuse me spoken a) used when you want to get someone s attention politely, especially when you want to ask a question: Excuse me, can you tell me the way to the museum please? b) used to say that you are sorry for doing something… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • excuse*/*/ — [ɪkˈskjuːs] noun [C] I 1) a reason that you give to explain why you have done something bad, or why you have not done something that you should have done a reasonable/valid/legitimate excuse[/ex] He made some excuse about having a lot of work to… …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

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