levy

[ lev-ee ]
See synonyms for levy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural lev·ies.
  1. an imposing or collecting, as of a tax, by authority or force.

  2. the amount owed or collected.

  1. the conscription of troops.

  2. the troops conscripted.

verb (used with object),lev·ied, lev·y·ing.
  1. to impose (a tax): to levy a duty on imports.

  2. to conscript (troops).

  1. to start or wage (war).

verb (used without object),lev·ied, lev·y·ing.
  1. to seize or attach property by judicial order.

Origin of levy

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English leve(e), from Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of lever “to raise,” from Latin levāre, akin to levis “light”; cf. levee2

Other words for levy

Other words from levy

  • re·lev·y, verb (used with object), re·lev·ied, re·lev·y·ing.

Words that may be confused with levy

Other definitions for Levy (2 of 2)

Levy
[ lee-vee, lev-ee for 1; lee-vee, -vahy for 2 ]

noun
  1. Uriah Phillips, 1792–1862, U.S. naval commander.

  2. a male given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use levy in a sentence

  • Another avenue could specifically address capital gains, to impose higher levies on those with investments.

    The Problem With Obama’s Tax Math | Daniel Stone | September 21, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • The new levies would fall primarily on families earning more than $1 million a year.

    Debt Talks Back On | Howard Kurtz | July 11, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • In 1792 Prince Joseph found himself at the head of his new levies opposed by the trained troops of those countries.

    Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
  • If a man has not corn or money upon a man and levies a distraint, for every single distraint he shall pay one-third of a mina.

    The Oldest Code of Laws in the World | Hammurabi, King of Babylon
  • There is Owen on the west to help you keep the peace in one way, and Herewald on the east to help you with the levies if need be.

    A Prince of Cornwall | Charles W. Whistler

British Dictionary definitions for levy

levy

/ (ˈlɛvɪ) /


verblevies, levying or levied (tr)
  1. to impose and collect (a tax, tariff, fine, etc)

  2. to conscript troops for service

  1. to seize or attach (property) in accordance with the judgment of a court

nounplural levies
    • the act of imposing and collecting a tax, tariff, etc

    • the money so raised

    • the conscription of troops for service

    • a person conscripted in this way

Origin of levy

1
C15: from Old French levée a raising, from lever, from Latin levāre to raise

Derived forms of levy

  • levier, noun

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