excise

1
[ noun ek-sahyz, -sahys; verb ek-sahyz, ik-sahyz ]
See synonyms for: exciseexcised on Thesaurus.com

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.

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

verb (used with object),ex·cised, ex·cising.
  1. to impose an excise on.

Origin of excise

1
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

Words Nearby excise

Other definitions for excise (2 of 2)

excise2
[ ik-sahyz ]

verb (used with object),ex·cised, ex·cis·ing.
  1. to expunge, as a passage or sentence, from a text.

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

Origin of excise

2
First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin excīsus “cut out, hewn down,” past participle of excīdere “to excide

Other words from excise

  • ex·cis·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use excise in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for excise (1 of 2)

excise1

noun(ˈɛksaɪz, ɛkˈsaɪz)
  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

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

Origin of excise

1
C15: probably from Middle Dutch excijs, probably from Old French assise a sitting, assessment, from Latin assidēre to sit beside, assist in judging, from sedēre to sit

Derived forms of excise

  • excisable, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for excise (2 of 2)

excise2

/ (ɪkˈsaɪz) /


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

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

Origin of excise

2
C16: from Latin excīdere to cut down; see excide

Derived forms of excise

  • excision (ɪkˈsɪʒən), noun

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