except for

preposition

1

: with the exception of

everyone was gone except for me

2

: were it not for

except for you I would be dead

Synonyms

• apart from
• aside from
• bar
• barring
• beside
• besides
• but
• except
• excepting
• excluding
• exclusive of
• other than
• outside
• outside of
• save
• saving

Examples of except for in a Sentence

except for newscasts, I hardly watch any television at all

Recent Examples on the Web

While almost all couples earned at least one 10 (except for Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten), Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong, as well as Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson, stood out by receiving two 10s each. —Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Zero tickets matched all six numbers, and no one matched all five numbers except for the Powerball worth $500,000. —Chris Sims, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Nov. 2024

In 1980, Ronald Reagan won all of the Southern states except for Jimmy Carter’s native Georgia, signaling that the GOP was ascendant in the region. —Allison Mashell Mitchell / Made By History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024

Its southern part, culturally aligned with the Upper South and the Bible Belt, has seen Republicans win the state in every presidential election since 1968, except for a narrow victory in 2008 by Democrat Barack Obama. —The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

except for

preposition

: with the exception of : but for

all A's except for a B in Latin