Examples of “excuse” in a Sentence

verb To forgive someone, or overlook a minor fault.

• Please excuse the mess — we weren't expecting visitors.
• You must excuse my brother, because he gets cranky when he is hungry.
• Could you excuse the noise from the builders next door this week?

verb To release someone from a duty or allow them to leave.

• The teacher excused him from class early for a dentist appointment.
• The manager excused her from the meeting so she could catch her train.
• May I be excused from the table, please? I have finished my dinner.

noun A reason given to justify a mistake or avoid blame.

• His excuse for being late was that the bus never came.
• There's no excuse for talking to a colleague that way.
• Forgetting your homework again is a weak excuse, and the teacher knows it.