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Excise takes part of its meaning from the prefix ex-, "out". A writer may excise long passages of a novel to reduce it to a reasonable length, or a film director may excise a scene that might give offense. A surgeon may excise a large cancerous tumor, or make a tiny excision to examine an organ's tissue. Excise is also a noun, meaning a tax paid on something manufactured and sold in the U.S. Much of what consumers pay for tobacco or alcohol products go to cover the excise taxes that the state and federal government charge the manufacturers. But it's only accidental that this noun is spelled like the verb, since it comes from a completely different source.
Examples of excise in a Sentence
The Editorial Board, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2023
Movies have long been chopped up to excise explicit scenes, sometimes including kissing, or on political or religious grounds.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2023
Examples of regressive taxes include state sales taxes, excise taxes, user fees, payroll taxes and to some degree, property taxes.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2023
State excise taxes on fuel can send prices up or down, too.
—Mallika Mitra, wsj.com, 18 Oct. 2023
With the country’s finances shaken first by the pandemic, then a war in Europe, and finally its own disastrous mini-budget in September, the new government’s treasury chancellor elected to raise the excise duties on all alcoholic beverages.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 20 June 2023
Martin said Carson, as a former Indiana state excise police officer, also wants to seek police reform in safety and accountability.
—The Indianapolis Star, 31 Oct. 2022
Apportionment of direct taxes is so impractical that Congress did not generally levy them, relying instead on tariffs, excise taxes, and the like to fund the early federal government.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 20 Sep. 2023
Money from several big infrastructure bills approved by Congress since Biden took office is rejuvenating that part of the Superfund program, as is the renewal of excise taxes on oil and certain chemicals to finance more investigations and cleanups.
—Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2023
Rhoda Feng, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2023
Beyond that, there are many reasons Bonta and others being asked to excise Trump from the ballot should refuse.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023
Today, fat jokes have been carefully excised from the repertoires of most late-night hosts and tabloids, and mental health is generally treated as an open-source conversation, not a punchline.
—Leah Greenblatt, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
Sometimes they must be surgically excised for the pregnancy to continue.
—Rebecca Stewart, Parents, 6 Sep. 2023
Fanning’s storyline could be excised from the film completely without losing anything except the extratextual significance of seeing these actors together again.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023
Other subplots are excised or condensed, but the central love story remains intact.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 22 Aug. 2023
The film’s darker moments have been either lightened or excised in the stage musical version.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2023
But the court excised much of U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty's broad July 4 ruling, saying mere encouragement to take down content doesn't always cross a constitutional line.
—CBS News, 9 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'excise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Noun
obsolete Dutch excijs (now accijns), from Middle Dutch, probably modification of Old French assise session, assessment — more at assize
Verb (2)
Latin excisus, past participle of excidere, from ex- + caedere to cut
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb (1)
1652, in the meaning defined above
Verb (2)
1634, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing excise
Dictionary Entries Near excise
Cite this Entry
“Excise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excise. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
excise
1 of 2 noun
excise
2 of 2 verb
Noun
from obsolete Dutch excijs "tax," probably derived from early French assise "assessment"
Verb
from Latin excisus, past participle of excidere "to cut out," from ex- "out, out of" and caedere "to cut"
Medical Definition
Legal Definition
excise
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on excise
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for excise
Nglish: Translation of excise for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of excise for Arabic Speakers
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