ex·cuse
[v. ik-skyooz; n. ik-skyoos] verb, -cused, -cus·ing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1.to regard or judge with forgiveness or indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.): Excuse his bad manners.2.to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of: He excused his absence by saying that he was ill.
3.to serve as an apology or justification for; justify: Ignorance of the law excuses no one.
4.to release from an obligation or duty: to be excused from jury duty.
5.to seek or obtain exemption or release for (oneself): to excuse oneself from a meeting.
6.to refrain from exacting; remit; dispense with: to excuse a debt.
7.to allow (someone) to leave: If you’ll excuse me, I have to make a telephone call.
–noun
8.an explanation offered as a reason for being excused; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or for release from an obligation, promise, etc.: His excuse for being late was unacceptable.
9.a ground or reason for excusing or being excused: Ignorance is no excuse.
10.the act of excusing someone or something.
11.a pretext or subterfuge: He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility.
12.an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified: That coward is barely an excuse for a man. Her latest effort is a poor excuse for a novel.
—Idiom
13.Excuse me, (used as a polite expression, as when addressing a stranger, when interrupting or disagreeing with someone, or to request repetition of what has just been said.)