assess

American  

[uh-ses] / əˈsɛs /

verb (used with object)

• assesses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• assessed,
  past participle,  past
• assessing
  present participle

1. 

   to estimate officially the value of (property, income, etc.) as a basis for taxation.

2. to fix or determine the amount of (damages, a tax, a fine, etc.).

   The hurricane damage was assessed at six million dollars.

   Synonyms:

   adjust, appraise

3. to impose a tax or other charge on.

4. to estimate or judge the value, character, etc., of; evaluate.

   to assess one's efforts.

   Synonyms:

   appraise

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assess British  

/ əˈsɛs /

verb

1. to judge the worth, importance, etc, of; evaluate

2. (foll by at) to estimate the value of (income, property, etc) for taxation purposes

   the estate was assessed at three thousand pounds

3. to determine the amount of (a fine, tax, damages, etc)

4. to impose a tax, fine, etc, on (a person or property)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overassess
  verb (used with object)
• reassess
  verb (used with object)
• assessable
  adjective
• unassessable
  adjective
• unassessed
  adjective
• well-assessed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• assessing
  present
• assessed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• assess
  simple
• assesses
  simple
• have assessed
  perfect
• has assessed
  perfect
• am assessing
  progressive
• are assessing
  progressive
• is assessing
  progressive
• have been assessing
  perfect progressive
• has been assessing
  perfect progressive

Past

• assessed
  simple
• had assessed
  perfect
• was assessing
  progressive
• were assessing
  progressive
• had been assessing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will assess
  simple
• will have assessed
  perfect
• will be assessing
  progressive
• will have been assessing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of assess

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English assessen, from Old French assesser, from Medieval Latin assessāre “to assess a tax,” derivative of Latin assessus “seated beside (a judge)” (past participle of assidēre ), equivalent to as- “toward” + sed- (stem of sedēre “to sit”) + -tus past participle suffix; see as-, sit ¹

Explanation

Before you try to sell your car, you should ask an expert to assess its value — once you know what it's worth, it's easier to find a fair price. When you assess a matter, you make a judgment about it. The verb assess has the general meaning of determining the importance or value of something. It also has a few specialized uses having to do with amounts of money, such as fines, fees, and taxes. It can mean to set the value of property for purposes of taxation, or to charge a person or business a tax or fee. Assess comes from Anglo-French usage, and is ultimately derived from the Latin verb assidēre, "to sit as a judge."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

assess assesses assessed assessing

Krishnan plans to introduce legislation to compel the department to assess the proposal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

“Holding rates steady would provide additional time to assess whether there are potential cracks in the foundation of the expansion,” Tannenbaum said in an email to clients.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

A team from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology carried out an experiment in which 15 6- and 7-year-olds and 16 adults first sat for a short test to assess their baseline creativity skills.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

"The divers also recorded video and took photos, which we subsequently used to assess the exposure of the mines and the condition of the wreck."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

I never got to assess what kind of impact my talk with Tommy had had, because it was the very next day the news broke.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

"The National Intelligence Service currently assesses that Kim Ju Ae is being groomed as the successor and understands she has a younger sibling of unknown gender," the agency said, reaffirming its conclusion on succession.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Whereas chronological age measures years, biological age assesses the health of cells and organs to predict lifespan and risk of disease.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

The local county assesses the property at $176,000.

From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026

Shares of Meta Platforms have seen choppy trading on Wednesday as Wall Street assesses the implications of the social-media company’s settlement in a closely watched legal battle over child safety.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

Mom assesses a shriveled turnip, squeezing as she rotates it.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

The Raptors temporarily froze the Leonard trade after the NBA announced Toronto would inherit any penalties assessed to Leonard following its investigation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Its experts retained the acceptable daily intake of 15 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day and found that estimated dietary exposure remained below that level across the population groups assessed.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

The foreign ministry said the attack resulted in some injuries and damage, which was still being assessed.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Inbar assessed that Iran still has thousands of ballistic missiles in its arsenal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

I quietly assessed where we were going by the number of trees I’d see on the street outside.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

With Southern California still assessing the significant coastal damage from big waves and high tides in recent days, forecasters warned that more erosion was expected.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

The disconnect could reflect flaws in the surveys, or in how people are assessing the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

For U.S. investors, key to assessing the impact of the yen move will be determining whether Japan is bolstering its currency by selling down its holdings of more than $1 trillion of U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Asked about Caicedo, Alonso said: "Not longer term, but it is about assessing the risk. Probably last week we brought him back too early and I don't want to make the same mistake again."

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

After a few weeks of sniffing around and assessing the northern half, Blake decided that Cora’s spread would be a nice place to tie up his dog.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Related Words

• appraise
• check
• determine
• estimate
• fix
• gauge
• judge
• weigh