tariff
Americannoun
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tariffs
plural
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an official list or table showing the duties or customs imposed by a government on imports or exports.
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the schedule or system of duties so imposed.
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any duty or rate of duty in such a list or schedule.
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any table of charges, as of a railroad, bus line, etc.
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bill; cost; charge.
verb (used with object)
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tariffs,
present (3rd person singular)
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tariffed,
past participle, past
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tariffing
present participle
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to subject to a tariff.
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to put a valuation on according to a tariff.
noun
-
-
a tax levied by a government on imports or occasionally exports for purposes of protection, support of the balance of payments, or the raising of revenue
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a system or list of such taxes
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any schedule of prices, fees, fares, etc
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a method of charging for the supply of services, esp public services, such as gas and electricity
block tariff
-
a schedule of such charges
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a bill of fare with prices listed; menu
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the level of punishment imposed for a criminal offence
verb
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to set a tariff on
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to set a price on according to a schedule of tariffs
Usage
What does tariff mean? A tariff is a tax or duty on products that come into a country (imports) or leave it (exports), imposed by the country’s government. A tariff is also the list of taxes a government imposes on imports and exports. To tariff can mean to subject to a tariff. Example: There is a high tariff on foreign music CDs, so I just stream it instead.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tariffsimple
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tariffssimple
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have tariffedperfect
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has tariffedperfect
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am tariffingprogressive
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are tariffingprogressive
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is tariffingprogressive
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have been tariffingperfect progressive
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has been tariffingperfect progressive
Past
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tariffedsimple
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had tariffedperfect
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was tariffingprogressive
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were tariffingprogressive
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had been tariffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tariff
First recorded in 1585–95; earlier tariffa, from Italian, from Arabic taʿrīfah, derivative of ʿarrafa “to make known,” akin to ʿarafa “to know”
Explanation
A tariff is a kind of tax on goods a country imports or exports. If you want to buy a European-made car in the U.S., the price will include tariffs the government adds to the price of imported vehicles. Usually a government imposes a tariff to encourage its own industries and to discourage buying cheaper imports from other countries. If a government wants to protect its own clothing industry, it may add a tariff to imported clothing, to make sure that the imported clothes aren't cheaper than the locally manufactured items. You can control exports, too, by imposing tariffs. As a verb, you can say "the government tariffs certain imports and exports."
Vocabulary lists containing tariff
American History I
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The American Revolution - Introductory
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The United States
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
That means that for consumers, the total cost burden is likely to increase even if the tariff rates don’t change – because the new tariffs will be stacked on older ones.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
The last is a trade war tariff dating to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Fitness tracker and GPS equipment seller Garmin got earnings help from tariff refunds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Larger drones that have militarily sensitive capabilities, like thermal imaging, as well as “critical” drone components will be subject to a 100% tariff.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
“So six bolts of silk at twice the price, plus the tariff, but minus my bargain to you as a Zoroastrian would be one hundred forty-seven drachms.”
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
He expects other temporary inflation drivers — like tariffs and energy — will subside sooner or later.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
On Saturday, De la Espriella said he had a "friendly" 10-minute phone call with Trump, and sought a temporary suspension of the tariffs imposed by the United States, to bring relief during its reconstruction phase.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Section 301 has also opened the door to new country-specific tariffs targeted at Brazil, at 25%, while Section 338 was cited to slap an extra 50% import tax on certain Canadian goods.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Behind the scenes, the crosstown rivals are clashing as each company jockeys for tailored tariffs and policies while claiming to be the most American automaker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
It recognized England’s right to retain tariffs on American exports while granting English imports most-favored status in the United States; it implicitly accepted English impressment of American sailors.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Customs and Border Protection official recently told the trade court that companies will have to do their own accounting and upload a spreadsheet listing each wrongly tariffed good and the amount owed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Will retailers seek out customers who paid higher prices on products that were tariffed to hand them refunds?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
As American importers scrambled to switch suppliers last year, Asian producers such as Thailand and Vietnam benefitted at the expense of more highly tariffed China.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
It means a business will send goods somewhere without the knowledge of how those goods will be valued when it arrives at customs... you wouldn't know how your goods will be valued before you're tariffed.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
I presume if the siege lasts long enough, dogs, rats, and cats will be tariffed.
From Diary of the Besieged Resident in Paris by Henry Labouchere
This is why the surreal stories about the US tariffing rarely visited islands only inhabited by penguins matter.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2025
“You can’t be tariffing people at the same exact time that you’re negotiating a detailed arrangement with them,” Mr. Ross said, while describing them as a cocked pistol.
From New York Times ● May 21, 2018
He had something to do with the high cost of tariffing.
From Who Was Who: 5000 BC - 1914 Biographical Dictionary of the Famous and Those Who Wanted to Be by Irwin Leslie Gordon
The exportation of the national specie was still forbidden, and more than once the State found itself obliged to return to the question of the tariffing of its coinage.
From The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 by William Arthur Shaw
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
