Surplus Meaning
/ˈsɝˌplʌs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThat which remains when use or need is satisfied, or when a limit is reached; excess; overplus; overage.
nounSpecifically, an amount in the public treasury at any time greater than is required for the ordinary purposes of the government.
Sentence Examples
Our surplus has swelled by nearly ten percent in this quarter.
Japan has a surplus of rice, Europe of wine.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the harvest, there was a large ____ of grain that they could sell.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farm produced a large ____ of vegetables this year, which they decided to donate to a local charity today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English surplus, from Middle French surplus. Compare French surplus.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:
"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."
— 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
"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 […]"
— 1952, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations, Moroccan air base construction. 2 v, page 618:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the harvest, there was a large ____ of grain that they could sell.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farm produced a large ____ of vegetables this year, which they decided to donate to a local charity today.