{
    "term": "excuse",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "a reason, either true or invented, that you give to explain or defend your behaviour",
            "sensetop": "excuse for somethingexcuse for doing something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Late again! What's your excuse this time?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I tried desperately to think of a **good excuse**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a lame/feeble/poor/flimsy excuse"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a reasonable/valid excuse"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I know I missed the deadline, but I **have an excuse**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There's **no excuse for** such behaviour.",
                    "contextForm": "excuse for something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "His excuse for forgetting her birthday was that he had lost his diary.",
                    "contextForm": "excuse for doing something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "You don't have to **make excuses** for her *(= try to think of reasons for her behaviour)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's late. I'm afraid I'll have to **make my excuses** *(= say I'm sorry, give my reasons and leave)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I don't want to hear any more excuses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Justin mumbled some excuse and left."
                },
                {
                    "text": "What possible excuse could he have?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She became moody and unreasonable, lashing out at the slightest excuse."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He had no excuse for being so late."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Don't let perfectionism become an excuse for never getting started."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He's run out of excuses for not cleaning his room."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She made some feeble excuse about the car having broken down."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I seized on every excuse to avoid doing the work."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["perfect", "wonderful", "excellent"],
                "verb + excuse": ["have", "give", "make"],
                "preposition": ["excuse about", "excuse for"],
                "phrases": ["there is no excuse for…"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a good reason that you give for doing something that you want to do for other reasons",
            "sensetop": "excuse for somethingexcuse for doing somethingexcuse to do something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Eating ice cream for a sore throat isn't really a cure, but I like it, so **any excuse**!"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's just an excuse for a party.",
                    "contextForm": "excuse for something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Any occasion is a **good excuse** for having a barbecue.",
                    "contextForm": "excuse for doing something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It gave me an excuse to take the car.",
                    "contextForm": "excuse to do something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He tried unsuccessfully to find an excuse to leave."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The demonstration was **used as an excuse** to impose martial law."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She had to find a valid excuse for leaving the room."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The children provided a convenient excuse for missing the party."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her mother's illness provided her with an excuse to stay at home."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The political crisis is being used as an excuse to dock people's pay."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["perfect", "wonderful", "excellent"],
                "verb + excuse": ["have", "give", "make"],
                "preposition": ["excuse about", "excuse for"],
                "phrases": ["there is no excuse for…"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "a very bad example of something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Why get involved with that pathetic excuse for a human being?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a sorry excuse for a man"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She's a pitiful excuse for an actress."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["lousy", "miserable", "pathetic"],
                "preposition": ["excuse for"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "a note written by a parent or doctor to explain why a student cannot go to school or somebody cannot go to work",
            "labels": "(North American English)",
            "examples": []
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪkˈskjuːs/",
                "audio": "ex/excuse/excuse__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪkˈskjuːs/",
                "audio": "ex/excuse/excuse__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Middle English: from Old French escuser (verb), from Latin excusare ‘to free from blame’, from ex- ‘out’ + causa ‘accusation, cause’."
}