excuse definition

1. a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
• examples: he kept finding excuses to stay
• examples: every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job
• examples: his transparent self-justification was unacceptable
2. a note explaining an absence
• examples: he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him
3. accept an excuse for
• examples: Please excuse my dirty hands
4. grant exemption or release to
• examples: Please excuse me from this class
5. serve as a reason or cause or justification of
• examples: Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work
• examples: Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again
6. ask for permission to be released from an engagement
7. excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with
• examples: excuse someone's behavior
• examples: She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities