tax

[ taks ]

/ tæks /

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See synonyms for: tax / taxed / taxes / taxing 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)

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)

to levy taxes.

OTHER WORDS FOR tax

1 duty, impost, levy.

4 strain, tire, stretch.

See synonyms for tax on Thesaurus.com

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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.

OTHER WORDS FROM tax

taxer, nountax·ing·ly, adverbtaxless, adjectivetax·less·ly, adverb

tax·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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tax

tacks, tax

Other definitions for tax (2 of 2)

tax-

variant of taxo- before a vowel: taxeme.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tax in a sentence

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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
In response to the screen quota cut, South Korea established a “cinema tax” on the box office.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
The law went into operation in England imposing a tax on wearing hair powder.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
In former years, Korea had paid an annual tribute or tax to China, but for some time it had been held back by this king.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
Mr. Jackson supposed that Parliament had a right to tax America, but he much doubted the expediency of the present act.
The Eve of the Revolution|Carl Becker
In tax-paying circles it is said that the fashionable thing will be to start now and let the airship overtake you if it can.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 158, April 28, 1920|Various
The stamps, in remote districts, would frequently require more in postage to obtain than the value of the tax.
The Eve of the Revolution|Carl Becker

British Dictionary definitions for tax

tax

/ (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; 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 forms of tax

taxer, nountaxless, adjective

Word Origin for tax

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with tax

tax

In addition to the idiom beginning with tax

tax with

also see:

death and taxes