assess

American  

[uh-ses] / əˈsɛs /

verb (used with object)

• assesses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• assessed,
  past participle,  past
• assessing
  present participle

1. 

   to estimate officially the value of (property, income, etc.) as a basis for taxation.

2. to fix or determine the amount of (damages, a tax, a fine, etc.).

   The hurricane damage was assessed at six million dollars.

   Synonyms:

   adjust, appraise

3. to impose a tax or other charge on.

4. to estimate or judge the value, character, etc., of; evaluate.

   to assess one's efforts.

   Synonyms:

   appraise

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assess British  

/ əˈsɛs /

verb

1. to judge the worth, importance, etc, of; evaluate

2. (foll by at) to estimate the value of (income, property, etc) for taxation purposes

   the estate was assessed at three thousand pounds

3. to determine the amount of (a fine, tax, damages, etc)

4. to impose a tax, fine, etc, on (a person or property)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overassess
  verb (used with object)
• reassess
  verb (used with object)
• assessable
  adjective
• unassessable
  adjective
• unassessed
  adjective
• well-assessed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• assessing
  present
• assessed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• assess
  simple
• assesses
  simple
• have assessed
  perfect
• has assessed
  perfect
• am assessing
  progressive
• are assessing
  progressive
• is assessing
  progressive
• have been assessing
  perfect progressive
• has been assessing
  perfect progressive

Past

• assessed
  simple
• had assessed
  perfect
• was assessing
  progressive
• were assessing
  progressive
• had been assessing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will assess
  simple
• will have assessed
  perfect
• will be assessing
  progressive
• will have been assessing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of assess

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English assessen, from Old French assesser, from Medieval Latin assessāre “to assess a tax,” derivative of Latin assessus “seated beside (a judge)” (past participle of assidēre ), equivalent to as- “toward” + sed- (stem of sedēre “to sit”) + -tus past participle suffix; see as-, sit ¹

Explanation

Before you try to sell your car, you should ask an expert to assess its value — once you know what it's worth, it's easier to find a fair price. When you assess a matter, you make a judgment about it. The verb assess has the general meaning of determining the importance or value of something. It also has a few specialized uses having to do with amounts of money, such as fines, fees, and taxes. It can mean to set the value of property for purposes of taxation, or to charge a person or business a tax or fee. Assess comes from Anglo-French usage, and is ultimately derived from the Latin verb assidēre, "to sit as a judge."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

assess assesses assessed assessing

This allowed them to assess whether the patterns were similar and what those similarities might reveal about the true scale of overdiagnosis.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

The law firm told the BBC: "We are simply seeking cause of death information to assess whether the deaths of these former patients of Mr Paterson will be investigated."

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Brent crude and WTI have fallen as investors assess the likelihood that U.S.-Iran diplomatic efforts could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

It can be hard to assess the extent to which our everyday health makes us more or less vulnerable to scams.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

For the first time we had seen one another actually climbing and could better assess the strengths and weaknesses of the people on whom we would each depend over the coming weeks.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

"The National Intelligence Service currently assesses that Kim Ju Ae is being groomed as the successor and understands she has a younger sibling of unknown gender," the agency said, reaffirming its conclusion on succession.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Whereas chronological age measures years, biological age assesses the health of cells and organs to predict lifespan and risk of disease.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

The local county assesses the property at $176,000.

From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026

Shares of Meta Platforms have seen choppy trading on Wednesday as Wall Street assesses the implications of the social-media company’s settlement in a closely watched legal battle over child safety.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

He assesses them with his shrewd, twinkly, ironic little eyes and calls them “sir,” as if they’re his graduate students.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

The studies varied in quality, but the team assessed the risk of bias and the certainty of the evidence using established research methods.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

They also stressed that all paid marketing campaigns were assessed to ensure they deliver value for money.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

The CCW assessed each water company's performance on the number of complaints it received for every 10,000 households it serves, and the amount of effort customers have to put in to get their complaint resolved.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Real supervision requires an independent evaluation of what happened: testing, records and other means of verification not controlled by the system being assessed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

I assessed my goals, analyzed my outcomes, counted my wins.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Markets will be assessing the likelihood that the Bank of Canada could raise interest rates in the coming months, especially if energy prices stay elevated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Indonesia’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday, assessing the impact of rupiah-support measures as currency risks flared again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Professor Scaife said: "Scientists are still assessing whether the impacts will be in proportion to its magnitude, but we are already seeing expected effects worldwide."

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Times columnist Amy Kaufman, in a 2024 article assessing the cultural impact of the whirlwind romance between Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

I see all the muscles in Evelyn’s arm standing at attention, her eyes not cold, not quite like Jeanine’s, but calculating, assessing, planning.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• appraise
• check
• determine
• estimate
• fix
• gauge
• judge
• weigh