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View synonyms for tax

tax

1

[ taks ]

noun

  1. a sum of money demanded by a government for its support or for specific facilities or services, levied upon incomes, property, sales, etc.

    Synonyms: levy, impost, duty

  2. a burdensome charge, obligation, duty, or demand.


verb (used with object)

  1. (of a government)
    1. to demand a tax from (a person, business, etc.).
    2. to demand a tax in consideration of the possession or occurrence of (income, goods, sales, etc.), usually in proportion to the value of money involved.
  2. to lay a burden on; make serious demands on:

    to tax one's resources.

    Synonyms: stretch, tire, strain

  3. to take to task; censure; reprove; accuse:

    to tax one with laziness.

  4. Informal. to charge:

    What did he tax you for that?

  5. Archaic. to estimate or determine the amount or value of.

verb (used without object)

  1. to levy taxes.

tax-

2
  1. variant of taxo- before a vowel:

    taxeme.

tax

/ tæks /

noun

  1. a compulsory financial contribution imposed by a government to raise revenue, levied on the income or property of persons or organizations, on the production costs or sales prices of goods and services, etc
  2. a heavy demand on something; strain

    a tax on our resources

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


verb

  1. to levy a tax on (persons, companies, etc, or their incomes, etc)
  2. to make heavy demands on; strain

    to tax one's intellect

  3. to accuse, charge, or blame

    he was taxed with the crime

  4. to determine (the amount legally chargeable or allowable to a party to a legal action), as by examining the solicitor's bill of costs

    to tax costs

  5. slang.
    to steal
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈtaxless, adjective
  • ˈtaxer, noun
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Other Words From

  • taxer noun
  • taxing·ly adverb
  • taxless adjective
  • taxless·ly adverb
  • taxless·ness noun
  • anti·tax adjective
  • non·tax noun adjective
  • non·taxer noun
  • pro·tax adjective
  • re·tax verb (used with object)
  • self-taxed adjective
  • sub·taxer noun
  • under·taxed adjective
  • un·tax verb (used with object)
  • well-taxed adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tax1

First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the verb) Middle English taxen, from Medieval Latin taxāre, from Latin: “to appraise, charge, estimate,” literally, “to touch repeatedly,” from tangere “to touch”; noun derivative of the verb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tax1

C13: from Old French taxer, from Latin taxāre to appraise, from tangere to touch
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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with tax , also see death and taxes .
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Example Sentences

Have you tried to access the research that your tax dollars finance, almost all of which is kept behind a paywall?

His life as a man is built around health insurance and tax services.

Cocaine busts, tax cheats, and bribe-taking, born-again Christians: Welcome to the political scandals of 2014.

In response to the screen quota cut, South Korea established a “cinema tax” on the box office.

Tax evasion carries a maximum penalty of five years, and thus it seems likely that Grimm would be covered by the provision.

The law went into operation in England imposing a tax on wearing hair powder.

In former years, Korea had paid an annual tribute or tax to China, but for some time it had been held back by this king.

Mr. Jackson supposed that Parliament had a right to tax America, but he much doubted the expediency of the present act.

In tax-paying circles it is said that the fashionable thing will be to start now and let the airship overtake you if it can.

The stamps, in remote districts, would frequently require more in postage to obtain than the value of the tax.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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