assess
Americanverb (used with object)
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to estimate officially the value of (property, income, etc.) as a basis for taxation.
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to fix or determine the amount of (damages, a tax, a fine, etc.).
The hurricane damage was assessed at six million dollars.
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to impose a tax or other charge on.
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to estimate or judge the value, character, etc., of; evaluate.
to assess one's efforts.
- Synonyms:
- appraise
verb
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to judge the worth, importance, etc, of; evaluate
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(foll by at) to estimate the value of (income, property, etc) for taxation purposes
the estate was assessed at three thousand pounds
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to determine the amount of (a fine, tax, damages, etc)
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to impose a tax, fine, etc, on (a person or property)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overassessverb (used with object)
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reassessverb (used with object)
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assessableadjective
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unassessableadjective
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unassessedadjective
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well-assessedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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assesssimple
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assessessimple
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have assessedperfect
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has assessedperfect
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am assessingprogressive
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are assessingprogressive
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is assessingprogressive
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have been assessingperfect progressive
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has been assessingperfect progressive
Past
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assessedsimple
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had assessedperfect
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was assessingprogressive
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were assessingprogressive
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had been assessingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing assess
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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:
It said any overweight vehicle crossing the Menai Suspension Bridge meant the bridge required a "precautionary check to assess any potential damage".
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
She said she has sent government staff to the region to assess the damage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
To assess whether Microsoft’s AI spending is paying off, a key metric to watch is Azure cloud growth, according to Lee.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Japanese military has mobilised 3,600 personnel for disaster relief operations and sent 20 aircraft to assess the damage from the air, the defence minister said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
“I understand. You needn’t worry about that. I was asking because I need to assess the food supply. Some are saying there are fewer fish than there once were. Look here, what I’ve been writing.”
From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry
A recent analysis from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, an independent nonprofit that assesses the value of medical treatments, concluded that GLP-1 drugs including Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound are cost-effective.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
BBC Sport England reporter Alex Howell assesses how the players performed in Atlanta on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Switzerland's biggest bank, which is among the world's largest wealth managers, produces the annual UBS Global Wealth Report, which assesses personal wealth trends.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
The other 75% take the USA Hire Standard Assessment, which assesses a variety of cognitive skills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 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
They then assessed the nutritional information for products marketed to children aged 6 to 36 months.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
But Iran’s missile force, U.S. intelligence assessed, wasn’t completely destroyed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Indonesia’s central bank unexpectedly held interest rates steady on Wednesday as it assessed the effects of previous tightening moves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Direct damage to residential buildings came in at almost half of the assessed total at $9.3 billion.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The prisoners were marched past an SS doctor who quickly assessed them.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Swebal won’t begin production before late 2028, five years after he began assessing the possibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Unlike the other peptides, there are some studies assessing its clinical effectiveness; however, they were all conducted in the ’80s and ’90s, and the FDA described the results as “inconclusive and at best preliminary.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Since then the club has been the subject of an investigation by the FA, looking into who participated in the spying and assessing the culpability of those who knew it was happening.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
In its initial disclosure of the hack on 16 July, external, Hugging Face said it was still assessing whether any customer or partner data was affected and would contact affected parties if necessary.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
He’s on his feet in a blink and begins assessing the room critically.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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.
