tax

¹ American  

[taks] / tæks /

noun

1. a sum of money demanded by a government for its support or for specific facilities or services, levied upon incomes, property, sales, etc.

   Synonyms:

   levy, impost, duty

2. a burdensome charge, obligation, duty, or demand.

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verb (used with object)

1. (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.

2. to lay a burden on; make serious demands on.

   to tax one's resources.

   Synonyms:

   stretch, tire, strain

3. to take to task; censure; reprove; accuse.

   to tax one with laziness.

4. Informal. to charge.

   What did he tax you for that?

5. Archaic. to estimate or determine the amount or value of.

verb (used without object)

1. to levy taxes.

tax- ² American  

1. variant of taxo- before a vowel.

   taxeme.

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tax British  

/ tæks /

noun

1. 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

2. a heavy demand on something; strain

   a tax on our resources

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verb

1. to levy a tax on (persons, companies, etc, or their incomes, etc)

2. to make heavy demands on; strain

   to tax one's intellect

3. to accuse, charge, or blame

   he was taxed with the crime

4. 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

5. slang to steal

tax Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tax

• death and taxes

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Other Word Forms

• antitax adjective
• nontax noun
• nontaxer noun
• protax adjective
• retax verb (used with object)
• self-taxed adjective
• subtaxer noun
• taxer noun
• taxingly adverb
• taxless adjective
• taxlessly adverb
• taxlessness noun
• undertaxed adjective
• untax verb (used with object)
• well-taxed adjective

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

Example Sentences

The rate of VAT - the tax paid when buying goods and services - is 20%, one of the highest rates for hospitality in Europe.

From BBC

The Bears, with good reason, feared that their tax bill would skyrocket.

From The Wall Street Journal

To take just one example, Australia - led by a Labour government from which this government often takes inspiration - has halved its fuel taxes.

From BBC

Gas tax prices are soaring across the U.S. — currently above $4 a gallon on average — and lawmakers are naturally looking for ways to alleviate the pain at the pump.

From MarketWatch

Another is that taxpayers can reduce their tax burdens by investing in an IRA before April 15.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• contribution
• cost
• duty
• expense
• fine
• levy
• price
• rate
• tariff