tax

[taks]

See more synonyms for tax on Thesaurus.com

noun

a sum of money demanded by a government for its support or for specific facilities or services, levied upon incomes, property, sales, etc.
a burdensome charge, obligation, duty, or demand.

verb (used with object)

(of a government)
1. to demand a tax from (a person, business, etc.).
2. to demand a tax in consideration of the possession or occurrence of (income, goods, sales, etc.), usually in proportion to the value of money involved.
to lay a burden on; make serious demands on: to tax one's resources.
to take to task; censure; reprove; accuse: to tax one with laziness.
Informal. to charge: What did he tax you for that?
Archaic. to estimate or determine the amount or value of.

verb (used without object)

to levy taxes.

Origin of tax

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English taxen < Medieval Latin taxāre to tax, appraise, Latin: to appraise, handle, frequentative of tangere to touch; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.

Related formstax·er, nountax·ing·ly, adverbtax·less, adjectivetax·less·ly, adverbtax·less·ness, nounan·ti·tax, adjectivenon·tax, noun, adjectivenon·tax·er, nounpro·tax, adjectivere·tax, verb (used with object)self-taxed, adjectivesub·tax·er, nounun·der·taxed, adjectiveun·tax, verb (used with object)well-taxed, adjective

Can be confusedtacks tax

Synonyms

See more synonyms for tax on Thesaurus.com

1. duty, impost, levy. 4. strain, tire, stretch.

tax-

variant of taxo- before a vowel: taxeme.

ad valorem tax

noun

a tax levied according to the value of the property, merchandise, etc., being taxed.

Origin of ad valorem tax

First recorded in 1690–1700

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tax

Contemporary Examples

Have you tried to access the research that your tax dollars finance, almost all of which is kept behind a paywall?
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers
Michael Schulson
July 27, 2016
His life as a man is built around health insurance and tax services.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President
Pierre Assouline
January 9, 2015
Cocaine busts, tax cheats, and bribe-taking, born-again Christians: Welcome to the political scandals of 2014.
2014 Was a Delectably Good Year for Sleaze
Patricia Murphy
December 30, 2014
Tax evasion carries a maximum penalty of five years, and thus it seems likely that Grimm would be covered by the provision.
The Felon Who Wouldn’t Leave Congress
Ben Jacobs, David Freedlander
December 23, 2014
He also promised not to raise taxes and to give a three-year tax holiday to small businesses with good reputations.
Recession? Devaluation? Inflation? Putin Tells Russia Stay the Course.
Anna Nemtsova
December 4, 2014

Historical Examples

Often it happened that certain farmers could not pay their tax.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
The only constitutional tax is the tax which ministers to public necessity.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
After the Reformation the tax was collected, but given to the bishop.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
Great was the outcry at this wastefulness, on the part of some of the tax payers.
Cleveland Past and Present
Maurice Joblin

British Dictionary definitions for tax

tax

noun

a compulsory financial contribution imposed by a government to raise revenue, levied on the income or property of persons or organizations, on the production costs or sales prices of goods and services, etc
a heavy demand on something; straina tax on our resources

verb (tr)

to levy a tax on (persons, companies, etc, or their incomes, etc)
to make heavy demands on; strainto tax one's intellect
to accuse, charge, or blamehe was taxed with the crime
to determine (the amount legally chargeable or allowable to a party to a legal action), as by examining the solicitor's bill of coststo tax costs
slang to steal

Derived Formstaxer, nountaxless, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French taxer, from Latin taxāre to appraise, from tangere to touch

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 tax

v.

c.1300, "impose a tax on," from Old French taxer "impose a tax" (13c.), from Latin taxare "evaluate, estimate, assess, handle," also "censure, charge," probably a frequentative form of tangere "to touch" (see tangent). Sense of "burden, put a strain on" first recorded 1670s; that of "censure, reprove" is from 1560s. Its use in Luke ii for Greek apographein "to enter on a list, enroll" is due to Tyndale. Related: Taxed; taxing.

n.

early 14c., "obligatory contribution levied by a sovereign or government," from Anglo-French tax, Old French taxe, and directly from Medieval Latin taxa, from Latin taxare (see tax (v.)). Related: taxes. Tax shelter is attested from 1961.

Idioms and Phrases with tax

tax

In addition to the idiom beginning with tax

tax with

also see:

death and taxes

tax

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Synonyms

tax-

ad valorem tax

Origin of ad valorem tax

Examples from the Web for tax

Contemporary Examples

Have you tried to access the research that your tax dollars finance, almost all of which is kept behind a paywall?

His life as a man is built around health insurance and tax services.

Cocaine busts, tax cheats, and bribe-taking, born-again Christians: Welcome to the political scandals of 2014.

Tax evasion carries a maximum penalty of five years, and thus it seems likely that Grimm would be covered by the provision.

He also promised not to raise taxes and to give a three-year tax holiday to small businesses with good reputations.

Historical Examples

Often it happened that certain farmers could not pay their tax.

The only constitutional tax is the tax which ministers to public necessity.

But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending.

After the Reformation the tax was collected, but given to the bishop.

Great was the outcry at this wastefulness, on the part of some of the tax payers.

tax

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for tax

v.

n.

Idioms and Phrases with tax

tax

Origin of tax