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Meaning & use

excess funds

noun·Advancedfinancebusiness

Last updated

UK/ˌekses ˈfʌndz/
US/ˌekses ˈfʌndz/

Meanings

  1. nounpluralfinancebusiness

    Money that remains after all needs, costs, or planned uses have been met.

    Grammar: Always plural; if you need a singular, say 'excess fund' only for a specific named account, but the usual phrase is plural.

    Patterns

    • excess funds for something
    • excess funds from something
    • have excess funds
    • use excess funds

    After paying the bills, the charity had excess funds to put into a new project.

    The company used its excess funds to buy back shares.

    We have no excess funds for luxuries this year.

  2. nounpluralfinancebusiness

    Money held in an account that is more than the amount needed for current operations.

    Grammar: Often used with 'in' or 'of': excess funds in the account, excess funds of $2 million.

    Patterns

    • excess funds in an account
    • excess funds of an amount
    • hold excess funds
    • keep excess funds

    The treasurer reported excess funds of $50,000 in the reserve account.

    Banks may lend out their excess funds to other institutions.

    She transferred the excess funds to a savings account.

Common combinations

have excess funds
We don't have excess funds to spend on new equipment.
generate excess funds
The new sales strategy generated excess funds for expansion.
excess funds for something
There are no excess funds for travel this quarter.
excess funds in an account
The auditor found excess funds in the petty cash account.
use excess funds
The council decided to use excess funds to repair roads.

Synonyms and how they differ

surplus
Surplus is more general and can refer to goods as well as money; excess funds is specific to money.
reserves
Reserves are money kept for future needs, while excess funds are money left after needs are met.
spare cash
Spare cash is informal and usually smaller amounts; excess funds is formal and often larger.

Opposites

shortage of fundsdeficit

Word family

excess noun
An amount that is more than needed or allowed.
fund noun
A sum of money saved or made available for a purpose.

Commonly confused: excess funds or access funds?

excess funds vs access funds

Access funds means to get money from an account, while excess funds means money left over.

Practice

After the project was completed, the team had ________ to return to the main budget.

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