ex·cerpt
ˈek-ˌsərpt 
ˈeg-ˌzərpt
ˈeg-ˌzərpt
: a passage (as from a book or musical composition) selected, performed, or copied : extract
ex·cerpt
ek-ˈsərpt
eg-ˈzərpt
ˈek-ˌsərpt
ˈeg-ˌzərpt
eg-ˈzərpt
ˈek-ˌsərpt
ˈeg-ˌzərpt
excerpted; excerpting; excerpts
1
: to select (a passage) for quoting : extract
2
: to take or publish extracts from (something, such as a book)
excerptor
noun
or excerpter
Synonyms
Examples of excerpt in a Sentence
Noun
Among the excerpts and Twitter feeds and author interviews … there was the actor Will Smith praising The Alchemist as one of his favorite books.
—
Gregory Cowles, New York Times Book Review, 18 Oct. 2009
When his [Thomas Jefferson's] wife Martha died in 1782, he wrapped a lock of her hair with a scrap of paper containing an excerpt from the couple's favorite novel, Laurence Sterne's comic masterpiece, Tristram Shandy, and stashed the token in his desk.
—Walter Kim, Time, 5 July 2004
The exemplary figure here is Norman Mailer, whose 1959 Advertisements for Myself is the height of writerly chutzpah. The book, comprising excerpts from his journalism and fiction, descriptions of the agonies he went through to produce them and obsessive reviews of his reviewers, is so shameless it's admirable.
—Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review, 17 June 2001
… I also keep a pad by the side of my bed for writing down great thoughts at night without having to turn on the light. In the morning, these great thoughts sound like excerpts from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
—Bill Cosby, Time Flies, (1987) 1988
She read an excerpt from the play.
I've read only excerpts of Moby-Dick, never the whole book.
Verb
The fiction that the magazine does publish is too often excerpted from novels or imminently forthcoming collections, making the magazine seem more a flack for publishers than a site of editorial strength and vision.
—Vince Passaro, Harper's, August 1999
How quickly does the Net move? Last Friday journalist Michael Colton posted an elaborate Web parody of the forthcoming magazine Talk, which is owned by Miramax and helmed by former New Yorker editor Tina Brown. Within hours, the site's URL had ricocheted about in countless e-mails, and the Drudge Report had excerpted the text.
—Newsweek, 26 July 1999
Gregory Cowles, New York Times Book Review, 18 Oct. 2009
When his [Thomas Jefferson's] wife Martha died in 1782, he wrapped a lock of her hair with a scrap of paper containing an excerpt from the couple's favorite novel, Laurence Sterne's comic masterpiece, Tristram Shandy, and stashed the token in his desk.
—Walter Kim, Time, 5 July 2004
The exemplary figure here is Norman Mailer, whose 1959 Advertisements for Myself is the height of writerly chutzpah. The book, comprising excerpts from his journalism and fiction, descriptions of the agonies he went through to produce them and obsessive reviews of his reviewers, is so shameless it's admirable.
—Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review, 17 June 2001
… I also keep a pad by the side of my bed for writing down great thoughts at night without having to turn on the light. In the morning, these great thoughts sound like excerpts from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
—Bill Cosby, Time Flies, (1987) 1988
She read an excerpt from the play.
I've read only excerpts of Moby-Dick, never the whole book.
Verb
The fiction that the magazine does publish is too often excerpted from novels or imminently forthcoming collections, making the magazine seem more a flack for publishers than a site of editorial strength and vision.
—Vince Passaro, Harper's, August 1999
How quickly does the Net move? Last Friday journalist Michael Colton posted an elaborate Web parody of the forthcoming magazine Talk, which is owned by Miramax and helmed by former New Yorker editor Tina Brown. Within hours, the site's URL had ricocheted about in countless e-mails, and the Drudge Report had excerpted the text.
—Newsweek, 26 July 1999
Recent Examples on the WebHope King, Axios, 25 Oct. 2024
The following article is an excerpt from the new edition of In Review by David Ehrlich, a biweekly newsletter in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the site’s latest reviews and muses about current events in the movie worlds.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2024
This article is excerpted and adapted from The Death of the Mehdi Army: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Iraq's Most Powerful Militia (Hurst, 2015).
—Nicholas Krohley, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2015
See all Example Sentences for excerpt 
Noun
This story was an excerpt from Axios Closer, a recap on the day's biggest business stories.
—Hope King, Axios, 25 Oct. 2024
The following article is an excerpt from the new edition of In Review by David Ehrlich, a biweekly newsletter in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the site’s latest reviews and muses about current events in the movie worlds.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
Allan has rarely spoken about her time with the late Princess of Wales, and reflects in the new book Dancing With Diana: A Memoir, published Sept. 10 and exclusively excerpted in PEOPLE, about the safe haven the lessons were for her.
Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage?
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2024
This article is excerpted and adapted from The Death of the Mehdi Army: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Iraq's Most Powerful Militia (Hurst, 2015).
—Nicholas Krohley, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2015
See all Example Sentences for excerpt
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'excerpt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near excerpt
Cite this Entry
“Excerpt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excerpt. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
excerpt
2 of 2 noun
ex·cerpt
ˈek-ˌsərpt
ˈeg-ˌzərpt
ˈeg-ˌzərpt
: a part taken from a longer work
read an excerpt from the play
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