tax

¹

[taks]

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.

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

1. variant of taxo- before a vowel.

   taxeme.

tax

/ 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

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tax¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tax¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

• death and taxes

Example Sentences

The Danish tax authority was left licking its wounds, after failing to establish that a large group of defendants, including Mr Bains, were liable for huge losses it had suffered.

Read more on BBC

He thinks his rent freeze plan would hurt tenants and his taxes on wealthy people will drive high earners away.

Read more on BBC

Including their expected luxury tax bill this winter, Dodgers owner Mark Walter—fresh off his purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers—and his partners will pay roughly a half-billion dollars.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Types of data included utility bills, criminal records, immigration and tax records, and health information.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

About 24 million people buy health insurance through the marketplace, the majority of whom used to receive tax credits to lower the monthly price of insurance.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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