levy

[lev-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR levy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural lev·ies.

an imposing or collecting, as of a tax, by authority or force.

the amount owed or collected.

the conscription of troops.

the troops conscripted.

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

to impose (a tax): to levy a duty on imports.

to conscript (troops).

to start or wage (war).

verb (used without object), lev·ied, lev·y·ing.

to seize or attach property by judicial order.

Origin of levy

1375–1425; late Middle English leve(e) < Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of lever to raise < Latin levāre, akin to levis light; cf. levee²

Related formsre·lev·y, verb (used with object), re·lev·ied, re·lev·y·ing.self-lev·ied, adjectiveun·lev·ied, adjective

Can be confusedlevee levy

Synonyms for levy

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR levy ON THESAURUS.COM

6. draft, enlist, callup.

Levy

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

noun

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

a male given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for levy

duty, fee, tariff, excise, burden, collect, exact, raise, gathering, imposition, muster, collection, custom, toll, impost, exaction, extort, set, wrest, gather

Examples from the Web for levy

Contemporary Examples of levy

The Arab leaders told Levy that they had been ordered out—and even threatened—by al-Husseini and must obey.
The Triumph and Tragedy of Ari Shavit’s My Promised Land
Sol Stern
February 9, 2014
The Bain investment is likely welcome news for retailers such as Levy.
The Cult of Canada Goose
Keli Goff
December 23, 2013
Another major turning point, Levy said, was the popularity of National Geographic and Discovery programming.
The Cult of Canada Goose
Keli Goff
December 23, 2013
In the wake of 26/11, Scott-Clark and Levy report, the ISI perpetuated the lie that the ten gunmen had been martyred in Kashmir.
When India Failed in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks
Emma Garman
November 2, 2013
Hume noted that government debt is easy to levy while its costs are hidden.
Austerity’s Scottish Ghosts Haunt the Modern Economic Mind
Mark Blyth
May 12, 2013

Historical Examples of levy

And now this levy for home defence had swept the farms clean.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
Their last attempt was to levy a duty upon the things that were re-embarked.
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Robert Southey
Kindly and well-meant advice, but Levy would have none of it.
The New Land
Elma Ehrlich Levinger
He pushed the dice aside and rose to release Levy from his bonds.
The New Land
Elma Ehrlich Levinger
Levy hardly knew him for the shy, taciturn playfellow of his boyhood.
The New Land
Elma Ehrlich Levinger

British Dictionary definitions for levy

levy

verb levies, levying or levied (tr)

to impose and collect (a tax, tariff, fine, etc)

to conscript troops for service

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

noun plural 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

Derived Formslevier, noun

Word Origin for levy

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

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

Word Origin and History for levy

early 13c., "act of raising or collecting," from Anglo-French leve, from Old French levée "act of raising," noun use of fem. past participle of lever "to raise" (see lever). Originally of taxes, later of men for armies (c.1500). Related: Levied; levying.

"an act of levying," early 15c., from Anglo-French leve, Old French levée "a raising, lifting; levying," noun use of fem. past participle of lever "to raise" (see lever).