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

Landers stresses that the design of the game is crucial to be a fair assessment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

These include balance training, resistance exercise, and personalized fall prevention programs that combine approaches such as exercise, hazard assessment, and education based on an individual's specific risk factors.

From Science Daily • Jun. 15, 2026

Following an assessment she was then released to police custody, Greater Manchester Police said.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

“We got to learn by stopping, taking an assessment, and listening to the community. And we really wanted to change the culture of Fringe.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

"Excuse me," I belched, and quickly covered my mouth with both hands, nodded my agreement to their assessment of my character, and ran down the hall to the bathroom.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

Related Words

• appraisal
• estimate
• judgment