taxing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of taxing
Explanation
Taxing things are stressful and difficult. Climbing a mountain is taxing, and so is spending an entire day babysitting an unruly toddler. Things that are taxing wear you out, either physically or mentally (or both). You may think of physical jobs like construction work as the most taxing kind of employment, until you realize how emotionally taxing it would be to care for sick patients as a nurse, or how mentally taxing you might find working as an accountant. This adjective comes from the verb tax, which means "to put a strain on."
Vocabulary lists containing taxing
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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.
Japan makes more revenue from Australian gas - by taxing imports - than Australia itself does, according to progressive public policy think tank the Australia Institute.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
But the Joint Committee previously estimated that taxing carried interest as income would raise $63.1 billion over a decade, and that cracking down on derivative contracts could raise $16.5 billion in that time frame.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
So it’s worth toasting the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which recently held that a ban on home distilling isn’t justified under Congress’s taxing power.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
It would be much less intrusive than taxing income, much less complicated, and it would be fairer.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026
In consequence, the AT is essentially just the central part of a very long, taxing haul connecting the South and New England.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
