assessment

American  

[uh-ses-muhnt] / əˈsɛs mənt /

noun

assessments plural

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.

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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

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assessment Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misassessment
  noun
• overassessment
  noun
• reassessment
  noun
• self-assessment
  noun
• proassessment
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• assessments
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

“Whereas before, I don’t know if I’m going to get hit with some balcony assessment that these condo commandos are hiding.”

From MarketWatch • Jul. 7, 2026

Tuchel also told the media on Saturday that the player would need a late assessment before deciding if he was fit enough for the substitutes bench against Mexico.

From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026

“Does failure to raise these issues enhance our ability to deal with Turkey on the many critical strategic, critical tactical issues with which we have to deal? My assessment there is no, not a bit.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 4, 2026

But in the oppressive heat of La Guaira, the team's latest assessment found no signs of life.

From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026

Then he laughs at his own assessment of me.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

Related Words

• appraisal
• estimate
• judgment