excuse me

idiom

—used as a polite way of starting to say something

Excuse me, but do you mind if I shut the window?

—used as a polite way of starting to interrupt someone

Excuse me, but may I say something?

—used as a polite way of trying to get someone's attention

Excuse me, do you know where I can find Maple Street?

—used as a polite way of starting to say one disagrees with someone

Excuse me, but I don't think those figures are entirely accurate.

—used as a polite apology for a minor fault or offense, such as laughing, coughing, or burping

—used as a polite apology for getting in someone's way or bumping into someone

Oh, excuse me. I didn't notice you standing there.

chiefly US

—used as a polite way of asking someone to repeat something

Excuse me? I didn't hear the last part of what you were saying.

informal

—often used in an annoyed way when someone has suggested that a person has done something wrong and the person does not agree

"You were supposed to be home an hour ago." "Well, excuse me! I had to fix a flat tire."

Examples of excuse me in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

So those games are when really the entire team — excuse me, the entire NFL, the entire league — tunes in to see how everybody’s doing. —

Zac Jackson, The Athletic, 4 Aug. 2024 There is one silver lining to the whole thing: Thanks to a new coordinate provided by the Entity, or, excuse me, the Friends of the Vatican, David is remote-viewing into Leland’s new home the very moment this interaction with Kristen is taking place. —

Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 25 July 2024 Well, excuse me, every third person in Russia has such diseases. —

Greg Norman, Fox News, 15 Aug. 2024 Sad about the deaths in Atlanta but, excuse me, what were those protesters doing in front of our tanks? —

Mark Green, New York Daily News, 25 May 2024 Red Hot Chili Peppers’ (excuse me, Red Hots’) bassist Flea going on a beautifully freewheeling ode to Denny’s as a great communal unifier. —

Vulture Staff, Vulture, 13 May 2024 That’s huge money for a Quickfire — excuse me, for the Ultimate Quickfire Challenge, nonsense words that Kristen says because everything on this show now must be the first and the biggest and the best! —

Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 May 2024 Well, Margaret, there's no doubt that – excuse me – the United – the United States has not been perfect, far from perfect. —

CBS News, 12 May 2024 The campaign – excuse me – the White House is focused on doing more of that, sending him out to some of the key battlegrounds. —

Nbc Universal, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2024