something that remains above what is used or needed.
2.
an amount, quantity, etc., greater than needed.
3.
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.
4.
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
5.
being a surplus; being in excess of what is required:
surplus wheat.
verb (used with object), surplussed or surplused, surplussing or surplusing.
6.
to treat as surplus; sell off; retire:
The government surplussed some of its desert lands.
Origin
1325-75;Middle English (noun) < Old French < Medieval Latinsuperplus, equivalent to super-super- + plusplus
Extra power needed can be pulled from the batteries, surplus power is stored in the batteries.
Evolutionarily, it would make no sense to carry around surplus brain tissue.
He first treats rent as the surplus product of land above the substance of the laborers.
In some cases, homeowners may be able to sell surplus energy to the electric company.
What's needed for wind as well as solar is a way to store a large energy surplus.
One involves a surplus of individuals qualified and willing to do such work.
The surplus animals end up in mostly unregulated auctions where anyone at all can buy them.
Traditionally, rugged laptops have required a military-grade surplus of tradeoffs.
Processes other than supersymmetry could also account for the triple lepton surplus.
There are hundreds of posts from new mothers eager to turn their surplus into profits.
British Dictionary definitions for surplus
surplus
/ˈsɜːpləs/
noun (pl) -pluses
1.
a quantity or amount in excess of what is required
2.
(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
3.
(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
4.
being in excess; extra
Word Origin
C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin superplūs, from Latin super- + plūs more
Word Origin and History for surplus
n.
late 14c., from Old French surplus, from Medieval Latin superplus "excess, surplus," from Latin super "over" super + plus "more" (see plus).
surplus in Culture
surplus definition
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. (Compareshortage.)