Accept vs. Except — What’s the Difference?

Accept and except are near homophones in English — meaning they sound alike. 

However, these words are far from the same and have very different meanings and uses. 

To help you ensure that you’ve picked the write term in your writing, let’s review the definitions as well as some examples of how to use accept versus except in a sentence. 

Not sure if you’ve correctly chosen accept or except in your copy? Use the Originality.ai AI Grammar Checker to review your content and catch grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

What Does Accept Mean?

Accept is a verb with several meanings.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers a number of definitions for accept, including:

• Using it to say that something is received voluntarily.
• Offering approval or welcoming something or someone.
• Providing recognition that something is true and accurate.

Essentially, to accept something means to agree to an idea or to receive a thing graciously. 

Accept can be used in reference to physical objects as well as suggestions, ideas, questions, memberships, or employment.

Examples of how to use accept in a sentence

• I won’t accept money from them.
  
  • Meaning: I won’t willingly receive money from them.
• Sheila accepted his proposal.
  
  • Meaning: Sheila said yes to his proposal.
• The company must wait for the candidate to accept the job offer before continuing the onboarding process.
  
  • Meaning: The company must wait for the candidate to agree to the job offer before continuing the onboarding process.

What Does the Word Except Mean?

You can use except in your writing as either a preposition, a conjunction, or a verb. 

• As a preposition, except generally refers to excluding something. 
• Then, when except is used as a conjunction, except refers to a scenario where you might do anything other than a certain action.
  
  •  In this case, you can typically use it interchangeably with ‘but,’ or ‘excluding.’
• Finally, as a verb, except refers to removing or taking something out of what would otherwise represent a whole.
  
  • However, the verb form is less commonly used than the other forms.

Examples of how to use except in a sentence

• All the girls went out on Friday except Ana.
  
  • Meaning: All the girls went out on Friday but Ana.
• Except on rainy days, Jim always bikes to work.
  
  • Meaning: Excluding rainy days, Jim always bikes to work.
• Coffee was excepted from the breakfast buffet.
  
  • Meaning: Coffee was excluded from the breakfast buffet.

When to Use Accept vs. Except

Although the two words sound similar, they have completely distinct meanings. Spelling is important to convey the right meaning in your sentences. 

As a helpful tip to remind you of when it’s best to use except instead of accept, remember that the word starting with “ex-” means to exclude. 

As these words have different meanings, it is possible for them to be used in the same sentence.

Examples of accept and except in the same sentence

• For some reason people seem to accept everything except helpful advice.
  
  • Meaning: Some people are willing to receive everything but helpful advice.
• Except for more dessert, I’ll accept anything you’d like to bring to dinner.
  
  • Meaning: Excluding more dessert, I'll be willing to receive anything you’d like to bring to dinner.
• She would accept the job offer except the office is too far away.
  
  • Meaning: She would agree to the job offer but the office is too far away.

Final Thoughts

Using accept and except properly in your writing is key to conveying the correct meaning of your sentence. If you aren’t sure when it’s best to use “accept” or “except,” use the Originality.ai AI Grammar Checker to review your copy, so that you can publish with confidence. 

Get more tips on grammar, punctuation, and spelling best practices in our guides:

• It’s vs. Its — How to Use Them Properly + Examples
• Content Editing vs. Copy Editing — A Comparative Guide
• A Guide to Using Exclamation Marks in Writing