(surpluses)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If there is a surplus of something, there is more than is needed.
Germany suffers from a surplus of teachers.
N-VAR
2.
Surplus is used to describe something that is extra or that is more than is needed.
Few people have large sums of surplus cash...
The houses are being sold because they are surplus to requirements.
ADJ: usu ADJ n, also v-link ADJ to n
3.
If a country has a trade surplus, it exports more than it imports.
Japan's annual trade surplus is in the region of 100 billion dollars.
N-COUNT: usu n N
4.
If a government has a budget surplus, it has spent less than it received in taxes.
Norway's budget surplus has fallen from 5.9% in 1986 to an expected 0.1% this year.
N-COUNT: usu n N