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 /

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

• excision
  noun
• excisable
  adjective

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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 ”

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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

See Examples For:

excise excised excising

In practice, the order will defer payment of the Federal excise tax imposed on the fuel for the rest for the year, without penalties or interest.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

McClarkin, at the BBPA, has been analysing excise duty on beer.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

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

“We hold that the ban is a necessary and proper means of collecting the federal excise tax on distilled spirits,” Judge Kethledge continues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 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

This is a film McElwee feels compelled to make, as if it were something living inside of him that had to be excised by any means necessary.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

To confirm the source of the high frequency sound, researchers conducted excised larynx experiments.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026

This will be a tale of crime and punishment told in flashback, rewinding to Becket’s mother, an heiress excised from an eleven-figure fortune for giving birth as an unwed teenager.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

Ms. McCracken has now collected the 280 excised notes and compiled them into a sometimes useful, always charming book roughly equal in length to the original novel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

She had meticulously excised each car, leaving only its shadow.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

They’re dead-set on excising any shagginess that doesn’t fit their hidebound worldview, attacking textbooks and museums that dare to push beyond a straightforward explanation.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

This statue yassifies Trump, sucking out his buccal fat, virilizing his features, carefully excising all of the dainty feyness that, whether he likes it or not, is crucial to capturing the unique Trump disposition.

From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026

You will respect your stepdaughter’s position by excising her from the trust, while ensuring you don’t leave a lot of swag for your stepson to squander.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 20, 2025

In a fast-changing economy, businesses are automating some entry-level roles and excising middle layers of their org charts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025

When the disease is of a severe type, and is confined to one knee, the question of excising the joint may be considered.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles

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Related Words

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

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