an acceptable excuse for missing school
The children provided a convenient excuse for missing the party.
He made up some stupid excuse to the teachers.
a built-in excuse for failure
What possible excuse could he have?
She seized on every excuse to avoid doing the work.
He became moody and unreasonable, flailing out at Katherine at the slightest excuse.
He had no excuse for being so late.
She made some feeble excuse about the car having broken down.
You don't have to make excuses for her (= try to think of reasons for her actions).
It's late. I'm afraid I'll have to make my excuses (= say I'm sorry, give my reasons and leave).
Delivering the stuff for George gave me an excuse to take the car.
Her mother's illness provided her with an excuse to stay at home.
She had to find a valid excuse for leaving the room.
He made up a rather lame excuse for the work being late.
The political crisis is being used as an excuse to dock people's pay.
He's run out of excuses for not cleaning his room.
Don't let perfectionism become an excuse for never getting started.
Justin mumbled some excuse and left.
I don't want to hear any more excuses.
He invented a pathetic excuse about losing his watch.
It's just an excuse for a party.
There's no excuse for such conduct.
She's a pitiful excuse for an actress.
a sorry excuse for a man
Why get involved with that pathetic excuse for a human being?