excise

1 of 3

noun

ex·​cise ˈek-ˌsīz How to pronounce excise (audio)
-ˌsīs
1
: an internal tax levied on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of a commodity
2
: any of various taxes on privileges often assessed in the form of a license or fee

excise

2 of 3

verb (1)

ex·​cise ˈek-ˌsīz How to pronounce excise (audio)
-ˌsīs,
ik-ˈsīz
excised; excising

transitive verb

: to impose an excise on

excise

3 of 3

verb (2)

ex·​cise ik-ˈsīz How to pronounce excise (audio)
excised; excising

transitive verb

: to remove by or as if by excision

Did you know?

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.

Example Sentences

Noun an excise imposed on a number of goods
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
To the immense relief of the industry, the excise was omitted from the draft, with crypto booster Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) tweeting that one of Republicans’ victories had been blocking the measure. Byleo Schwartz, Fortune Crypto, 31 May 2023 His plan would cost the state $600 million to pause the sales tax on diesel for one year and $523 million to pause inflation increases to gas and diesel excise taxes. Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2022 Indiana lawmakers, governor reluctant to make changes IMPD is pushing the state to give local authorities more autonomy or equip excise police with resources to tackle the problem. The Indianapolis Star, 1 Feb. 2023 There are also state and local excise taxes, and a sales tax. Mary Jane Gibson, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2022 Researchers calculated residents' tax burden, or the percentage of income consumed by state and local taxes, by adding up three types of tax types: property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes. Elizabeth Napolitano, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2023 Ilihia Gionson, a public affairs officer with the Hawaii Tourism Authority Hawaii, for example, is seeing a strong post-pandemic tourism recovery, even though its 13.3% state and county transient accommodation taxes combine with 4.5% excise taxes to add close to 18% to nightly hotel bills. Harriet Baskas, NBC News, 8 Mar. 2023 The excise officers will work out of the unit's offices on Keystone Avenue and will receive IMPD laptops and radios. The Indianapolis Star, 4 Feb. 2023 Clemmons said excise police could shut down a party and the township could be held liable for any incident involving an individual who attended the event if no permit is issued. Karen Caffarini, chicagotribune.com, 21 Sep. 2021
Verb
Treatment options include open-heart surgery to remove the tumor, a heart transplant, or autotransplantation, a new procedure where the patient’s heart is temporarily removed (and the patient is put on a life-support machine) so that the surgeon can better excise the tumor. Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 29 Nov. 2021 In her account, French museums shunned his works until astonishingly late, while French officials, French critics and French bureaucrats did their best to sideline him, denigrate his work or excise him from the national story altogether. Hugh Eakin, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2023 Maybe a shorter run would have allowed the writers to excise some of the duller material. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2023 Norway plans to excise Russian assets from its $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund. Fortune, 28 Feb. 2022 The move to excise racist elements in dance has not been without controversy, especially in Europe. New York Times, 29 Nov. 2021 States including Oregon, Montana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Maine, have passed laws to excise it from place names, maps and markers. Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Sep. 2021 Mallory’s impossible task is to find and excise all the fabrications. Sam Sacks, WSJ, 31 Dec. 2020 McCloskey’s insistence that people should evaluate situations in transhistorical terms rather than protest the inequities of their own time and place proceeds from a wrongheaded conception of freedom that excises us from our contexts. Lisa Wells, Harper’s Magazine , 13 Mar. 2023 See More

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

Etymology

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

First Known Use

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of excise was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near excise

Cite this Entry

“Excise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excise. Accessed 3 Jun. 2023.

Kids Definition

excise

1 of 2 noun
ex·​cise ˈek-ˌsīz How to pronounce excise (audio)
-ˌsīs
: a tax on the manufacture, sale, or use of certain goods within a country

excise

2 of 2 verb
ex·​cise ek-ˈsīz How to pronounce excise (audio)
excised; excising
: to remove by cutting out
excise a tumor
excision
-ˈsizh-ən
noun
Etymology

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

excise

transitive verb
ex·​cise ik-ˈsīz How to pronounce excise (audio)
excised; excising
: to remove by excision : resect
excise a tumor

Legal Definition

excise

noun
1
: a tax levied on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of a commodity compare income tax, property tax
2
: any of various taxes on privileges often assessed in the form of a license or other fee compare direct tax
excise transitive verb
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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