What does excel mean?
Word: Excel
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Excel means to be very good at something, better than most people.
Synonyms: stand out, outdo
Antonyms: struggle, fail
How do you spell excel?
Syllables: ex - cel
Tricky part: Excel ends in a single l. The l doubles only when an ending starting with a vowel is added, as in excelled and excelling.
Watch out for: excell, eksel
Memory tip: Short word, short ending: excel keeps one l until a vowel ending such as ed or ing arrives.
Excel in a sentence
Example 1: Meera excels at chess and has won three district titles.
Example 2: Some students excel in sports, others in music or science.
Example 3: Our school band hopes to excel at the inter-school festival in Pune.
Fun Fact
Excel comes from Latin excellere, to rise above or surpass, so to excel is to rise above the others.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Children who practise every day often exel at the harmonium as well as the tabla.
a) tabla
b) practise
c) harmonium
d) exel
Show answer
d) exel. A c follows the x in excel.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
xecle
a) excel
b) exalt
c) extol
d) expel
Show answer
a) excel. Expel, exalt and extol have no c, but the jumble does, so excel is the only fit.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
excel
a) wander
b) rest
c) hesitate
d) shine
Show answer
d) shine. To excel at something is to shine at it.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) exersise
b) exhibet
c) excel
d) expirience
Show answer
c) excel. In exhibit the last vowel is i; exercise has a c in the middle; experience has an e after the p.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sentence uses excel correctly?
a) Rohan excels the bus every morning.
b) Rohan excelled his bag on the shelf.
c) Rohan excels to school by cycle.
d) Rohan excels at solving puzzles quickly.
Show answer
d) Rohan excels at solving puzzles quickly.
2. Pooja excels in science, so her marks in it are likely to be ____.
a) lower than last year
b) missing from the report
c) just above the pass mark
d) among the best in the class
Show answer
d) among the best in the class
