noun
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the act of assessing, esp (in Britain) the evaluation of a student's achievement on a course
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an amount determined as payable
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a valuation set on taxable property, income, etc
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evaluation; estimation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of assessment
Explanation
Assessment is a word you hear a lot around schools — an assessment is an evaluation, and one type of assessment is used to measure what someone knows or has learned. Tests and term papers can be assessment tools. More than just students are given assessments. You might bring your dad's plastic gnome collection to an expert for an assessment and find out it's worth all of $15.35. You might make a quick assessment of a sticky situation — say it's you, a tasty ham sandwich, and your hungry dog— and decide to run.
Vocabulary lists containing assessment
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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This Week in Words: January 12 - 18, 2019
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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.
On the day of the killing, his mother had called an ambulance to their home with the hope he could be taken to hospital for an assessment.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
His research focuses on risk assessment and the reduction of contaminants in food, contributing to science based policies and improved public health.
From Science Daily • May 22, 2026
So does their assessment of the risks to their command-and-control systems, the risks of nuclear escalation and the risks of significant economic disruption.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
The final word will come from yields, of course, but Carville’s assessment, delivered in the early 1990s, remains sound.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
Diaz said I didn’t need to take any kind of assessment test, Mom is making me take one that she had Alex print out for us from the internet.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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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.