tax

¹ American  

[taks] / tæks /

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.

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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 American  

1. variant of taxo- before a vowel.

   taxeme.

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tax British  

/ 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

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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

tax Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tax

• death and taxes

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Other Word Forms

• antitax adjective
• nontax noun
• nontaxer noun
• protax adjective
• retax verb (used with object)
• self-taxed adjective
• subtaxer noun
• taxer noun
• taxingly adverb
• taxless adjective
• taxlessly adverb
• taxlessness noun
• undertaxed adjective
• untax verb (used with object)
• well-taxed adjective

Etymology

Origin of tax

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

Example Sentences

Disconnecting and reconnecting our attention is very cognitively taxing.

From Los Angeles Times

International shippers who front-loaded goods to get ahead of new taxes accounted for much of the port’s cargo during its record year.

From Los Angeles Times

You and your wife should explore Roth conversions for when you enter a lower tax bracket.

From MarketWatch

“While Main Street business owners remain concerned about taxes, they anticipate favorable economic conditions in 2026 due to waning cost pressures, easing labor challenges, and an increase in capital investments,” Dunkelberg said.

From The Wall Street Journal

The country recently announced plans to remove or cut the export tax rebate for solar and battery related products.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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