levy

¹

[ lev-ee ]

noun

, plural lev·ies.

1. an imposing or collecting, as of a tax, by authority or force.
2. the amount owed or collected.
3. the conscription of troops.
4. the troops conscripted.

verb (used with object)

, lev·ied, lev·y·ing.

1. to impose (a tax):

   to levy a duty on imports.

2. to conscript (troops).

   Synonyms: enlist, draft

3. to start or wage (war).

verb (used without object)

, lev·ied, lev·y·ing.

1. to seize or attach property by judicial order.

Levy

²

[ lee-vee, lev-ee lee-vee, -vahy ]

noun

1. Uriah Phillips, 1792–1862, U.S. naval commander.
2. a male given name.

levy

/ ˈlɛvɪ /

verb

1. to impose and collect (a tax, tariff, fine, etc)
2. to conscript troops for service
3. to seize or attach (property) in accordance with the judgment of a court

noun

1. 1. the act of imposing and collecting a tax, tariff, etc
   2. the money so raised
2. 1. the conscription of troops for service
   2. a person conscripted in this way

Derived Forms

• ˈlevier, noun

Other Words From

• re·lev·y verb (used with object) relevied relevying

Word History and Origins

Origin of levy¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English leve(e), from Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of lever “to raise,” from Latin levāre, akin to levis “light”; levee ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of levy¹

C15: from Old French levée a raising, from lever, from Latin levāre to raise

Example Sentences

Prodigiously researched, elegantly written and relentlessly interesting, Levy’s opus should be required reading for every college history and economics major.

From Washington Post

With no forensic evidence or eyewitnesses, that key witness, Armando Morales, was the sole direct link between Guandique and Levy.

From Washington Post

The measures would have lowered the threshold at which workers start paying income tax, raised levies on businesses and expanded VAT.

From Time

The book breaks down Levy’s so-called “Influence Equation”—how influence is determined by the integrity of your relationships and the strength of the community you’re part of, or trying to build—to demonstrate his way of forming bonds with others.

From Time

In addition to hosting the events, Levy runs a consulting firm that works with companies to help them connect with their employees and customers through applying research in neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics and more.

From Time

He raised the device in front of his face, eyeing it suspiciously from behind his Eugene Levy eyebrows.

From The Daily Beast

French philosopher Bernard Henri Levy has been a staunch defender of the right to offend and blaspheme--when it comes to Islam.

From The Daily Beast

In the mixed city of Haifa, for example, the Jewish mayor Shabtai Levy met with Arab leaders just before the war broke out.

From The Daily Beast

The Arab leaders told Levy that they had been ordered out—and even threatened—by al-Husseini and must obey.

From The Daily Beast

The Bain investment is likely welcome news for retailers such as Levy.

From The Daily Beast

If this stinking quartet takes it into its head to levy annual blackmail, where is the money coming from?

From Project Gutenberg

Whatever property on which a levy could have been made by judicial process against the bankrupt passes to the trustee.

From Project Gutenberg

But the levy could not be collected till Michaelmas, and meantime the King appealed for an advance.

From Project Gutenberg

Maybe if we did go with Thorgils we should meet many more men on the way to the levy also.

From Project Gutenberg

King Harald sent round the whole of Norway calling out a levy, one half of the general war-muster.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• burden
• duty
• excise
• fee
• tariff