as in excesses
the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed
we have a surplus of plastic knives, but we're short on forks and spoons for the picnic
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Recent Examples of surpluses
Lawmakers should strengthen the spending and volatility caps by limiting off budget workarounds and ensuring that one-time surpluses are used responsibly.
—
Carol Platt Liebau, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs each have infield surpluses, making players like Isaac Paredes, Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw logical targets.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
All operating surpluses are reinvested into the inn’s parent Shorefast charity, which supports the cultural and economic resilience of the local community.
—Jennifer Flowers, AFAR Media, 30 Jan. 2026
The program ended in 1943 as the war drew to an end, and there were fewer surpluses.
—Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, 24 Nov. 2025
As a result, Germany’s EU partners were forced to import nearly all of Germany’s surpluses.
—Michael Pettis, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2025
Economists warn that solutions that worked in the past—such as the post-World War II debt reduction or the 1990s surpluses—are unavailable today.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 13 Nov. 2025
Designed to combat both hunger and agricultural surpluses during the Great Depression, the program used orange stamps for general food purchases and blue stamps for surplus items.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025
The pot of money has built sizable reserves due to annual surpluses and an arrangement for the fund to share in a portion of tariff revenue, Super added.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2025
Carol Platt Liebau, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs each have infield surpluses, making players like Isaac Paredes, Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw logical targets.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
All operating surpluses are reinvested into the inn’s parent Shorefast charity, which supports the cultural and economic resilience of the local community.
—Jennifer Flowers, AFAR Media, 30 Jan. 2026
The program ended in 1943 as the war drew to an end, and there were fewer surpluses.
—Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, 24 Nov. 2025
As a result, Germany’s EU partners were forced to import nearly all of Germany’s surpluses.
—Michael Pettis, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2025
Economists warn that solutions that worked in the past—such as the post-World War II debt reduction or the 1990s surpluses—are unavailable today.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 13 Nov. 2025
Designed to combat both hunger and agricultural surpluses during the Great Depression, the program used orange stamps for general food purchases and blue stamps for surplus items.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025
The pot of money has built sizable reserves due to annual surpluses and an arrangement for the fund to share in a portion of tariff revenue, Super added.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surpluses
Noun
-
As much as any other institution—schools, libraries, churches—the public-health system has helped propagate the idea of a commons, often working against historical inertia to curb the excesses of American individualism.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Foreign observers, Liu argues, tend to portray Chinese people as either the enablers or the victims of their government’s excesses.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
As a result, sewage blockages and overflows became widespread, increasing the risk of wastewater contaminating drinking water sources and heightening the likelihood of outbreaks of diarrhea, hepatitis A and other waterborne diseases in an already vulnerable community.—
Sarah Ferguson,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
-
However, long-term problems persist as completely eliminating overflows will take decades, according to officials.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surpluses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surpluses. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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