noun
- A person serving no apparent function.
- usage: "reducing staff is difficult because our employees include no supernumeraries"
- A minor actor in crowd scenes.
- synonyms: spear carrier, extra
adjective
- More than is needed, desired, or required.
- usage: "trying to lose excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological advance"; "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"; "delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words"; "extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts"; "surplus cheese distributed to the needy"
- synonyms: excess, extra, redundant, spare, supererogatory, superfluous, surplus
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). supernumerary. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/supernumerary/definitions/1184790 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "supernumerary" http://smartdefine.org/supernumerary/definitions/1184790 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, supernumerary, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/supernumerary/definitions/1184790>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "supernumerary" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/supernumerary/definitions/1184790> |