impost
1 Americannoun
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a tax; tribute; duty.
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a customs duty.
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Horse Racing. the weight assigned to a horse in a race.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the point of springing of an arch; spring.
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an architectural feature immediately beneath this point.
noun
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a tax, esp a customs duty
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horse racing the specific weight that a particular horse must carry in a handicap race
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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impostsimple
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impostssimple
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have impostedperfect
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has impostedperfect
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am impostingprogressive
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are impostingprogressive
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is impostingprogressive
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have been impostingperfect progressive
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has been impostingperfect progressive
Past
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impostedsimple
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had impostedperfect
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was impostingprogressive
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were impostingprogressive
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had been impostingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of impost1
1560–70; < Medieval Latin impostus a tax, noun use of Latin impostus, variant of impositus imposed; see imposition
Origin of impost2
1655–65; < French imposte < Italian imposta < Latin: feminine of impostus (past participle); see impost 1
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.
See Examples For:
He tells clients in a note that a sale for A$500 million plus appropriate brand value, with only a modest capital gains tax impost, would be positively received by investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
In January 1790, his “Report on the Public Credit” revived Robert Morris’s earlier call for a funded public debt, guaranteed by the impost and new taxes on coffee, tea, and imported alcohol.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
She defied a penalty at Lingfield last time with ease and another 6lb impost for that victory is unlikely to stop her such was the manner of her success.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2013
As reported by Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Crosby was not tame in his criticism of the hits and the league’s decision to not impost supplementary discipline.
From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 2011
Seabiscuit was entered in the prestigious Bay Meadows Handicap, but the track handicap- per delivered bad news: Seabiscuit received a 127-pound impost.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
The spending clause allows Congress to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises all for the general welfare of the United States.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026
Article I, Section 8 allows Congress to “lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 14, 2019
In policy matters, he proved obtuse, recommending, in one of his first initiatives, a blanket cancellation of all trade imposts.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 6, 2018
He and others, including former President Madison, argued that Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution gave Congress the power to “lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.”
From Textbooks ● Dec. 30, 2014
Should Seabiscuit win that event, Howard stated, he would be willing to accept higher imposts.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
