tariff

American  

[tar-if] / ˈtær ɪf /

noun

1. an official list or table showing the duties or customs imposed by a government on imports or exports.

2. the schedule or system of duties so imposed.

3. any duty or rate of duty in such a list or schedule.

4. any table of charges, as of a railroad, bus line, etc.

5. bill; cost; charge.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to subject to a tariff.

2. to put a valuation on according to a tariff.

tariff British  

/ ˈtærɪf /

noun

1. 1. a tax levied by a government on imports or occasionally exports for purposes of protection, support of the balance of payments, or the raising of revenue

   2. a system or list of such taxes

2. any schedule of prices, fees, fares, etc

3. 1. a method of charging for the supply of services, esp public services, such as gas and electricity

      block tariff

   2. a schedule of such charges

4. a bill of fare with prices listed; menu

5. the level of punishment imposed for a criminal offence

---

verb

1. to set a tariff on

2. to set a price on according to a schedule of tariffs

tariff Cultural  

1. A government tax on imports, designed either to raise revenue or to protect domestic industry from foreign competition.

---

Usage

What does tariff mean? A tariff is a tax or duty on products that come into a country (imports) or leave it (exports), imposed by the country’s government.A tariff is also the list of taxes a government imposes on imports and exports.To tariff can mean to subject to a tariff.Example: There is a high tariff on foreign music CDs, so I just stream it instead.

Other Word Forms

• pretariff noun
• protariff adjective
• retariff verb (used with object)
• tariffless adjective

Etymology

Origin of tariff

First recorded in 1585–95; earlier tariffa, from Italian, from Arabic taʿrīfah, derivative of ʿarrafa “to make known,” akin to ʿarafa “to know”

Example Sentences

The fund is part of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff system conceived to protect European producers from foreign competitors that aren’t required to pay for the carbon emissions they generate.

From The Wall Street Journal

The most common critique of tariffs inadvertently proves the point.

From The Wall Street Journal

By then, she said, it would be able to better assess whether recent goods-price inflation was receding as tariffs are more fully digested through the supply chain.

From The Wall Street Journal

Why hire if you don’t know how much the tariffs will cost or how much they will hurt sales?

From MarketWatch

Why hire if you don’t know how much the tariffs will cost or how much they will hurt sales?

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• cost
• duty
• excise
• levy
• price
• rate
• tax
• toll