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 ”

Explanation

An excise tax is a special tax levied on specific products sold within a country. To excise something can also mean to get rid of it. Say, wouldn't it be nice if they would excise the excise taxes? An excise tax is simply an extra tax put on various products. Perhaps the most common examples are the taxes levied on tobacco and liquor, often called "sin taxes" because drinking and smoking are considered vices. There is also an excise tax on gasoline. To cover the tax, the seller will usually raise the price of the item. Interestingly, the word excise (ek-SIZE) used as a verb means to remove something by cutting it out. Good luck with excising the excise taxes!

Example Sentences

They did that because they don’t face the same excise tax on those fees that they do on fares.

From Slate • May 12, 2026

The price for a gallon of gas has dropped almost 36 cents since the May 6 pause on the excise tax, according to a real-time monitor provided by the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.

From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026

The Irish government has in recent months cut excise duty on diesel and petrol but the latest package of measures is aimed at hauliers, farmers, agricultural contractors and fishers.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

State‑run retailers have yet to raise pump prices, with the government instead cutting excise duties on fuel.

From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026

Now he could no more excise it from his brain cells than he could sever his past from his future.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Related Words

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