excise

¹ American  

[ek-sahyz, -sahys, ek-sahyz, ik-sahyz] / ˈɛk saɪz, -saɪs, ˈɛk saɪz, ɪkˈsaɪz /

noun

1. an internal tax or duty on certain commodities, as liquor or tobacco, levied on their manufacture, sale, or consumption within the country.

2. a tax levied for a license to carry on certain employments, pursue certain sports, etc.

3. British. the branch of the civil service that collects excise taxes.

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verb (used with object)

excised, excising

1. to impose an excise on.

excise ² American  

[ik-sahyz] / ɪkˈsaɪz /

verb (used with object)

excised, excising

1. to expunge, as a passage or sentence, from a text.

2. to cut out or off, as a tumor.

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excise ¹ British  

noun

1. Also called: excise tax.  a tax on goods, such as spirits, produced for the home market

2. a tax paid for a licence to carry out various trades, sports, etc

3. that section of the government service responsible for the collection of excise, now part of HMRC

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excise ² British  

/ ɪkˈsaɪz, ɪkˈsɪʒən /

verb

1. to delete (a passage, sentence, etc); expunge

2. to remove (an organ, structure, or part) surgically

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Other Word Forms

• excisable adjective
• excision noun

Etymology

Origin of excise¹

1485–95; apparently < Middle Dutch excijs, variant of accijs < Medieval Latin accīsa tax, literally, a cut, noun use of feminine past participle of Latin accīdere to cut into, equivalent to ac- ac- + cīd-, variant stem of caedere to cut + -ta feminine past participle suffix, with dt > s

Origin of excise²

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin excīsus “cut out, hewn down,” past participle of excīdere “to excide ”

Example Sentences

The extra cents you pay at the pump are used to fund roads and other transportation infrastructure, making them a perfect example of user-pays excise taxes.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

Adam Hoffer is the director of excise tax policy at the Tax Foundation.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

The exact amount for your vehicle excise duty will depend on the year your car was registered.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Bangladesh raised jet fuel prices 79 percent and Ireland slashed the excise duty on petrol and diesel to stem surging prices at filling stations.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

Moss wished he could reach inside of his brain and excise the part of it that tormented him.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

Related Words

• black out
• cross out
• cut out
• edit
• eradicate
• expunge
• exterminate
• stamp out