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

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

Derived Forms

• ˈtaxless, adjective
• ˈtaxer, noun

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tax¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

The president should defend the funding for the IRS that helps to catch tax cheats, and he should block efforts by both parties to overspend.

From Los Angeles Times

“Are we really going to spend our tax dollars on these kinds of things?” asked Magnusson.

From Los Angeles Times

That would hasten the nation’s fiscal insolvency by further cutting taxes for the rich.

From Los Angeles Times

Lurie is already navigating some criticism of his choices, after the San Francisco Standard noted that OpenAI has been lobbying the city for tax breaks.

From Los Angeles Times

But the city’s “mansion tax” is expected to change that, bringing in hundreds of millions per year, about a third of which could be allocated to support “social housing.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• contribution
• cost
• duty
• expense
• fine
• levy
• price
• rate
• tariff