something that remains above what is used or needed.
an amount, quantity, etc., greater than needed.
agricultural produce or a quantity of food grown by a nation or area in excess of its needs, especially such a quantity of food purchased and stored by a governmental program of guaranteeing farmers a specific price for certain crops.
Accounting.
the excess of assets over liabilities accumulated throughout the existence of a business, excepting assets against which stock certificates have been issued; excess of net worth over capital-stock value.
an amount of assets in excess of what is requisite to meet liabilities.
adjective
being a surplus; being in excess of what is required: surplus wheat.
verb (used with object),sur·plussed or sur·plused,sur·plus·sing or sur·plus·ing.
to treat as surplus; sell off; retire: The government surplussed some of its desert lands.
Origin of surplus
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Old French surplus, s(o)urplus, from Medieval Latin superplūs, equivalent to super- preposition and prefix + plūs neuter noun; see origin at super-, plus
Far from helping to explain the southpaw surplus, the platoon effect must actually suppress the number of left-handed pitchers.
What Really Gives Left-Handed Pitchers Their Edge?|Guy Molyneux|August 17, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
I mean, don’t get me started on ethanol, because that’s the next step in reducing the surplus.
How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Ep. 386 Rebroadcast)|Stephen J. Dubner|August 6, 2020|Freakonomics
Just a few months ago, states like New Mexico were talking about a huge budget surplus.
How the global oil collapse ripped a hole in US state budgets|Michael J. Coren|July 25, 2020|Quartz
Careful analysis of meteorites by Dworkin and others has found that certain “live” amino acids outnumber “evil” ones by 20% or more, a surplus they may have passed on to Earth.
Cosmic Rays May Explain Life’s Bias for Right-Handed DNA|Charlie Wood|June 29, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Such a property would allow them to scatter with electrons at an enhanced rate, explaining the surplus of electronic recoils.
Dark Matter Experiment Finds Unexplained Signal|Natalie Wolchover|June 17, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Scottish farmers had already been making whisky in the area for centuries with their surplus barley.
Ester Elchies, The Estate Built By Whiskey||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In September 2013, the government reported a surplus of $75.1 billion.
The Battle of the Deficit Bulge Has Been Won|Daniel Gross|October 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is an era of change coming thick and fast after the war, and London is a city of surplus women and new class mobility.
Sarah Waters’s New Novel Rewrites the Rules of Love|Lucy Scholes|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But we now have all this surplus military weaponry going to police forces.
Rory Kennedy on ‘Last Days in Vietnam,’ the Parallels Between Vietnam and Iraq, and Ferguson|Marlow Stern|September 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Like surplus gear, a couple services are getting rid of people too.
Downsizing the War: Layoffs and Yard Sales in Afghanistan|Nick Willard|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Burr, in committee, frankly declared that the surplus was to establish a bank, and Governor Jay signed the bill.
The Life of John Marshall Volume 3 of 4|Albert J. Beveridge
Having completed the transfer, Ned counted the surplus left in the bag, and found it to be about 500 pounds.
The Golden Dream|R.M. Ballantyne
The surplus leaf is brushed off, leaving only the design visible.
The Building of a Book|Various
What do you suppose we'd be doin' with that surplus we'd accumulate?
The Great American Pie Company|Ellis Parker Butler
Tastefully clad in a Navy surplus Long John, he started down the corridors.
Industrial Revolution|Poul William Anderson
British Dictionary definitions for surplus
surplus
/ (ˈsɜːpləs) /
nounplural-pluses
a quantity or amount in excess of what is required
accounting
an excess of total assets over total liabilities
an excess of actual net assets over the nominal value of capital stock
an excess of revenues over expenditures during a certain period of time
economics
an excess of government revenues over expenditures during a certain financial year
an excess of receipts over payments on the balance of payments
adjective
being in excess; extra
Word Origin for surplus
C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin superplūs, from Latin super- + plūs more
An unsold quantity of a good resulting from a lack of equilibrium in a market. For example, if a price is artificially high, sellers will bring more goods to the market than buyers will be willing to buy. (Compare shortage.)