assess

verb

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as·sess | \ ə-ˈses

, a- \

assessed; assessing; assesses

Essential Meaning of assess

1 : to make a judgment about (something) The school will assess [=evaluate] the students' progress each year. After the hurricane, officials assessed the town's need for aid. See More Examplesassess a problem We need to assess whether or not the system is working. assess the situation/danger/impact/severityHide

2 : to officially say what the amount, value, or rate of (something) is Damage to the boat was assessed at ,000. Their house is assessed [=appraised, valued] at 3,000.

3 : to tax or charge (someone or something) : to require (a person, business, etc.) to pay a particular amount of money The company was assessed million in fines for polluting the river.

Full Definition of assess

transitive verb

1 : to determine the rate or amount of (something, such as a tax, charge, or fine)

2a : to impose (something, such as a tax) according to an established rate

b : to subject to a tax, charge, or levy Every homeowner will be assessed a tax according to the value of the property.

3 : to make an official valuation of (property) for the purposes of taxation Their property is assessed at $200,000.

4 : to determine the importance, size, or value of assess a problem assess the damage

5 sports : to charge (a player or team) with a foul or penalty

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More About assess

Synonyms & Antonyms for assess

Synonyms

Antonyms

remit

Choose the Right Synonym for assess

estimate, appraise, evaluate, value, rate, assess mean to judge something with respect to its worth or significance. estimate implies a judgment, considered or casual, that precedes or takes the place of actual measuring or counting or testing out. estimated the crowd at two hundred appraise commonly implies the fixing by an expert of the monetary worth of a thing, but it may be used of any critical judgment. having their house appraised evaluate suggests an attempt to determine relative or intrinsic worth in terms other than monetary. evaluate a student's work value equals appraise but without implying expertness of judgment. a watercolor valued by the donor at $500 rate adds to estimate the notion of placing a thing according to a scale of values. a highly rated restaurant assess implies a critical appraisal for the purpose of understanding or interpreting, or as a guide in taking action. officials are trying to assess the damage

Examples of assess in a Sentence

Cornell graduate student James Tanner spent three years in the early 1940s slogging southern swamps and bayous to assess where and how the species could be saved. By his reckoning, no more than twenty-four ivory-bills remained in the entire Southeast. — John Terborgh, New York Review of Books, 26 Apr. 2007 When the training staff determined that Everett had no mobility below his neck, Cappuccino was waved onto the field. He performed a quick battery of tests to assess the severity of the injury, squeezing various parts of Everett's body and asking him to respond. — Tim Layden, Sports Illustrated, 17 Dec. 2007 Tetlock found that his experts used a double standard: they were much tougher in assessing the validity of information that undercut their theory than they were in crediting information that supported it. — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2005 Briefly, the way it works is this. Every time a hog is sold, the seller is assessed 40 cents per $100 of sale value to promote the consumption of pork. — Warren R. Ross, UU World, Fall 2005 After the hurricane, officials assessed the town's need for aid. We need to assess whether or not the system is working. Damage to the boat was assessed at $5,000. The company was assessed $12 million in fines for polluting the river.

Recent Examples on the Web Officials said it’s not yet safe enough for teams to begin clearing debris that led to the closure or further assess the stability of the hillside. — From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 28 Dec. 2021 But before Webb begins collecting any science or snapping any photos of the cosmos, the telescope will undergo a rigorous six-month commissioning period to calibrate its instruments and assess the health of its various components. — NBC News, 25 Dec. 2021 From there, the coin heads to a review committee made of lawyers, analysts, and engineers that assess how to classify the token, and determine the legality behind listing the coin in various regions. — Emily Graffeo, Fortune, 24 Dec. 2021 The chief Bears decision makers should conduct a review of best practices from across the NFL and assess how their methods measure up. — Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 15 Dec. 2021 Without accurate maps, infrastructure funding can’t be distributed to states since the government can’t assess where funding should be allocated. — Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2021 Advisers have been brought in to try and assess what could be going better in the office. — Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 13 Dec. 2021 The state's health department also ordered the Navy to submit a work plan as well as an implementation schedule to safely remove the fuel from Red Hill's storage tanks and assess its operations within 30 days. — Tori B. Powell, CBS News, 7 Dec. 2021 The vice chair will have to navigate new technologies, like stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, and assess what those mean for banks. — New York Times, 13 Jan. 2022

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'assess.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.