tax
noun
a sum of money demanded by a government for its support or for specific facilities or services, levied upon incomes, property, sales, etc.
tax
1 American
[taks]
/ tæks /
noun
-
taxes
plural
verb (used with object)
-
taxes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taxed,
past participle, past
-
taxing
present participle
-
(of a government)
-
to demand a tax from (a person, business, etc.).
-
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)
-
taxes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taxed,
past participle, past
-
taxing
present participle
tax-
2
American
tax
British
/ tæks /
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; strain
a tax on our resources
verb
-
to levy a tax on (persons, companies, etc, or their incomes, etc)
-
to make heavy demands on; strain
to tax one's intellect
-
to accuse, charge, or blame
he 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 costs
to tax costs
-
slang to steal
tax
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nontaxnoun
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nontaxernoun
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subtaxernoun
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taxernoun
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taxlessnessnoun
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retaxverb (used with object)
-
untaxverb (used with object)
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antitaxadjective
-
protaxadjective
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self-taxedadjective
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taxlessadjective
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undertaxedadjective
-
well-taxedadjective
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taxinglyadverb
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taxlesslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
taxsimple
-
taxessimple
-
have taxedperfect
-
has taxedperfect
-
am taxingprogressive
-
are taxingprogressive
-
is taxingprogressive
-
have been taxingperfect progressive
-
has been taxingperfect progressive
Past
-
taxedsimple
-
had taxedperfect
-
was taxingprogressive
-
were taxingprogressive
-
had been taxingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tax
First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the verb) Middle English taxen, from Medieval Latin taxāre, from Latin: “to appraise, charge, estimate,” literally, “to touch repeatedly,” from tangere “to touch”; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
A charge or fee that a government imposes on a citizen or business is called a tax. Taxes help to pay for the services people (and businesses) receive from the government. There are many different kinds of taxes—on purchases, property, and income, for example—but all tax money is meant to pay for things that benefit people in society. For example, in many places schools, road repairs, fire departments, and health care for elderly and disabled people are all paid for with money from taxes. As a verb, tax can either mean "impose a tax on" or "put a strain or burden on."
Vocabulary lists containing tax
Citizenship (Civics) - Middle School
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Economics
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Ratios and Proportional Relationships
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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:
The Daily Star says former Liverpool footballer Jamie Carragher is facing an £800,000 tax bill, declaring "Carra in the red".
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The main condition for nonprofits’ favorable tax status is scrupulous adherence to the law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
“We cannot spend state money or tax dollars on technology that is not to better our state,” Sharp-Collins said during a news conference with other lawmakers in Sacramento.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
When law enforcement tries to trace bribes or tax evasion, criminals can easily hide among the hundreds of thousands of legal shell companies whose owners were only using them to lower their taxes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Doors were opening up and down the hallway: an insurance agent, the tax assessor, a dentist in a white coat, all poking their heads out to see what the fuss was about.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
The real power play is for parents to contribute $5,000 a year for 18 years, then help them convert the account to a Roth IRA so that it can ultimately be accessed tax- and penalty-free.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
In addition, all employees will receive a tax- and duty-free inflation compensation bonus of 2,850 euros in October.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 28, 2023
Federal law also allows up to $10,000 annually in tax- and penalty-free withdrawals for elementary, middle and high school tuition, but California does not.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2022
A second tax break would allow employee-owned companies to pay staff a tax- and national insurance-free bonus each year.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 3, 2013
She used to have an office downtown, but David got kicked out of day care, so now she runs her tax- preparation business from our spare bedroom.
From "Rules" by Cynthia Lord
Instead of paying taxes, SpaceX will make annual payments over the next 25 years to Vermilion Parish that will generate an estimated $820 million at least.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
But unlike state sales taxes in America, under a VAT businesses can deduct or refund the VAT they’ve paid on their own purchases of raw materials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Payroll taxes account for a flat 15.3% of income, including 12.4% for Social Security and the rest of Medicare.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Owners are legally required to pay taxes on this income, but no one pays if the IRS can’t identify who they are or prove what they owe.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
During the Jim Crow era, African Americans were denied the right to vote through poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and felon disenfranchisement laws, even though the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
"As finance minister I will not present a tax under which sugar-free drinks are taxed," Klingbeil, reportedly a big Coke Zero fan, told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Neuhardenberg, outside Berlin.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Do you think your retirement-account withdrawals will be taxed at a higher rate than your current one?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Road legal versions of the e-motorbikes have to be registered, taxed and insured.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Use them in the same year and the deduction absorbs conversion income that would otherwise be taxed at your top rate.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
“I taxed every power,” Elizabeth remembered, “hoping someday to hear my father say: ‘Well, a girl is as good as a boy, after all.’
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
It added that going home early is called an "early shove" in the aviation industry and is considered an informal perk for staff, sometimes offered after especially taxing shifts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Money from taxing net investment income would contribute to the program’s finances, “so it isn’t just the younger generation that has to pay for solvency,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Fundamentally, what makes a legislature powerful is its control over taxing and spending, the power of the purse.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
In theory, taxing capital would slow AI’s deployment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
All this was particularly taxing for Galileo since he loved spending money himself, enjoying fine wines and good food, and entertaining his friends generously whenever he was in funds.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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.
