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.

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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

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

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

They also interviewed the participants using the Psychopathy Checklist -- Revised, a widely used psychological assessment designed to measure psychopathic traits.

From Science Daily • May 10, 2026

They also asked for an assessment of risk for US citizens of any future Iranian strike on Israel's secretive Dimona nuclear research center.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

The researchers did their first assessment in the months following the fire, and donned orange vests to do it again this last month.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

The crisis team monitored Calocane daily on a community plan while gathering evidence about him, and eight days later a further MHA assessment was ordered.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

Had they come, as representatives of the feudal overlord—the Landlord—ao as to make an assessment for the next scutage?

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• appraisal
• estimate
• judgment