What does exception that proves the rule mean?

Looking for the meaning or definition of the word exception that proves the rule? Here's what it means.

Noun A form of argument in which the existence of a counterexample to a rule is used to demonstrate the fact that a rule exists. (idiomatic) The rare occurrence of a counterexample to a rule, used to underscore that the rule exists. Find more words! Another word for Opposite of Meaning of Rhymes with Sentences with Find word forms Translate from English Translate to English Words With Friends Scrabble Crossword / Codeword Words starting with Words ending with Words containing exactly Words containing letters Pronounce Find conjugations Find names From Afrikaans From Albanian From Amharic From Arabic From Armenian From Azerbaijani From Basque From Belarusian From Bengali From Bosnian From Bulgarian From Catalan From Cebuano From Chichewa From Chinese From Corsican From Croatian From Czech From Danish From Dutch From Esperanto From Estonian From Farsi From Filipino From Finnish From French From Frisian From Galician From Georgian From German From Greek From Gujarati From Haitian Creole From Hausa From Hebrew From Hindi From Hmong From Hungarian From Icelandic From Igbo From Indonesian From Irish From Italian From Japanese From Javanese From Kannada From Kazakh From Khmer From Korean From Kurdish From Kyrgyz From Lao From Latin From Latvian From Lithuanian From Luxembourgish From Macedonian From Malagasy From Malay From Malayalam From Maltese From Maori From Marathi From Mongolian From Burmese From Nepali From Norwegian From Polish From Portuguese From Punjabi From Romanian From Russian From Samoan From Scots Gaelic From Serbian From Sesotho From Shona From Sinhala From Slovak From Slovenian From Somali From Spanish From Sundanese From Swahili From Swedish From Tajik From Tamil From Telugu From Thai From Turkish From Ukrainian From Urdu From Uzbek From Vietnamese From Welsh From Xhosa From Yiddish From Yoruba From Zulu To Afrikaans To Albanian To Amharic To Arabic To Armenian To Azerbaijani To Basque To Belarusian To Bengali To Bosnian To Bulgarian To Catalan To Cebuano To Chichewa To Chinese To Corsican To Croatian To Czech To Danish To Dutch To Esperanto To Estonian To Farsi To Filipino To Finnish To French To Frisian To Galician To Georgian To German To Greek To Gujarati To Haitian Creole To Hausa To Hebrew To Hindi To Hmong To Hungarian To Icelandic To Igbo To Indonesian To Irish To Italian To Japanese To Javanese To Kannada To Kazakh To Khmer To Korean To Kurdish To Kyrgyz To Lao To Latin To Latvian To Lithuanian To Luxembourgish To Macedonian To Malagasy To Malay To Malayalam To Maltese To Maori To Marathi To Mongolian To Burmese To Nepali To Norwegian To Polish To Portuguese To Punjabi To Romanian To Russian To Samoan To Scots Gaelic To Serbian To Sesotho To Shona To Sinhala To Slovak To Slovenian To Somali To Spanish To Sundanese To Swahili To Swedish To Tajik To Tamil To Telugu To Thai To Turkish To Ukrainian To Urdu To Uzbek To Vietnamese To Welsh To Xhosa To Yiddish To Yoruba To Zulu English French Afrikaans Word Albanian Word Arabic Word Bengali Word Chinese Word Croatian Word Czech Word Danish Word Dutch Word English Word Finnish Word French Word German Word Greek Word Hindi Word Hungarian Word Icelandic Word Indonesian Word Italian Word Japanese Word Korean Word Latin Word Malay Word Malayalam Word Marathi Word Nepali Word Norwegian Word Polish Word Portuguese Word Romanian Word Russian Word Serbian Word Slovak Word Spanish Word Swahili Word Swedish Word Tamil Word Telugu Word Thai Word Turkish Word Ukrainian Word Uzbek Word Vietnamese Word Welsh Word All words 2-letter words 3-letter words 4-letter words 5-letter words 6-letter words 7-letter words 8-letter words 9-letter words 10-letter words 11-letter words 12-letter words 13-letter words 14-letter words Plural of Singular of Past tense of Present tense of Verb for Adjective for Adverb for Noun for Meaning of name Origin of name Names meaning Names starting with Names of origin exception that proves the rule Use * for blank tiles (max 2) Advanced Search Advanced Search Use * for blank spaces Advanced Search Advanced Word Finder See Also Words that rhyme with exception that proves the rule Nearby Definitions exceptions exceptio non numeratae pecuniae exceptionless exception handlers exception handler exceptioners exceptio quod metus causa exceptious exceptive exceptless exceptor exceptors