extra meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

extra

adj

Western /ˈɛkstɹə/ · South-Asia /ˈɛksʈɾa/

Etymology Abbreviation of extraordinary.

Usually Beyond what is due, usual, expected, or necessary; extraneous; additional; supernumerary.

I don't mind doing some extra work, as long as I get extra pay.
Kellogg himself became the biggest on-site celeb of all, delivering a weekly ‘Question Box’ lecture in which he explained that tobacco destroyed testicles, and that Ancient Rome had only fallen because the decadent Senators had started tossing their slaves into cookery pots to lend their food extra flavour, thus proving that an over-rich diet could lead to wholesale civilisational collapse.2018, S. D. Tucker, “Doctor Poolittle”, in Quacks! Dodgy Doctors and Foolish Fads Throughout History, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 147:

Dated, Usually Extraordinarily good; superior.

Slang, Usually Over the top; going beyond what is normal or appropriate, often in a dramatic manner.

You unfollowed her for posting cat memes? You're so extra!
I highly recommend getting some more bread on the side—they offer small loaves and soup crackers for free, but I'm so extra, I bought my own loaf.2017, Yael Livneh, "Whole Foods", in "Get The Inside Soup: Staffers Review Local Soup Stops", 3 February 2017, page 23

2 more examples

Shattered glass, pierced, bejewelled, chromed and glittered - nails are going totally extra on Insta at the minute and we approve.2017 November, Claire Craig, “#Instabeauty”, in Northern Woman, page 48:
Two months of Christmas trees, Christmas movies and Christmas music brings so much fun to our home, we are so extra with it!2019, Michelle Spottswood, quoted in Kirby Myers, "Does Christmas in your house start before or after Thanksgiving", Key West Weekly, 21 November 2019, page 7

adv

Etymology Abbreviation of extraordinary.

Informal To an extraordinary degree.

noun

Etymology Abbreviation of extraordinary.

7 senses

Something additional, such as an item above and beyond the ordinary school curriculum, or added to the usual charge on a bill.

An extra edition of a newspaper, which is printed outside of the normal printing cycle, for example to report an important late-breaking event.

Ball games, Cricket, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A run scored without the ball having hit the striker's bat - a wide, bye, leg bye or no ball.

Acting, Broadcasting, Entertainment, Film, Lifestyle, Media, Television, Theater A supernumerary or walk-on in a film or play.

Slang The state or trait of being over the top, of behaving in an overly dramatic manner.

Something of an extra quality or grade.

Government, Military, Politics, War Singapore A day of extra duties (often, over the weekends), as a form of punishment.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.