Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

assessment

American  
[uh-ses-muhnt] / əˈsɛs mənt /

noun

  1. the act of assessing; appraisal; evaluation.

  2. an official valuation of property for the purpose of levying a tax; an assigned value.

  3. an amount assessed as payable.


assessment British  
/ əˈsɛsmənt /

noun

  1. the act of assessing, esp (in Britain) the evaluation of a student's achievement on a course

  2. an amount determined as payable

  3. a valuation set on taxable property, income, etc

  4. evaluation; estimation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

assessment Cultural  
  1. The appraisal of property for the purposes of taxation.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of assessment

First recorded in 1530–40; assess + -ment

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing assessment

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

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "assessment" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com