levy

1 of 2

noun

ˈle-vē 

plural levies

1

a

: the imposition or collection of an assessment

The government imposed a levy on gasoline.

b

: an amount levied

2

a

: the enlistment or conscription of men for military service

b

: troops raised by levy

turned green levies into fighting soldiers

levy

2 of 2

verb

levied; levying

transitive verb

1

a

: to impose or collect by legal authority

levy a tax

b

: to require by authority

2

: to enlist or conscript for military service

3

: to carry on (war) : wage

intransitive verb

: to seize property

levier noun

Synonyms

Noun

• assessment
• duty
• imposition
• impost
• tax

Verb

• conscribe
• conscript
• draft

Examples of levy in a Sentence

Noun

the legislators approved a new levy on imported cattle to help protect American ranchers

Verb

They levied a tax on imports.

The government will levy a fine on the company.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The measure also eliminates taxes on Social Security income, lowers the statewide mill levy for schools from 20 mills to 19.5 mils and accelerates the elimination of the state sales tax on food to July 1, six months ahead of current law. —Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024

Individual cities in California, and elsewhere in the West, have voted by wider margins to raise taxes to fund homeless services, like last year, when Seattle renewed its housing levy for another seven years. —USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024

Wayne Local School District What: 1.65-mill, 5-year, permanent improvement levy. —Sue Kiesewetter, The Enquirer, 17 Mar. 2024

Hunt cut national insurance — a levy paid by people who work — by 2 percentage points. —Hanna Ziady, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024

Such levies could be justified with dubious (but plausible) arguments about moral betterment and public health. —Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024

Levies on the March 19 primary ballot didn't fare well, with only four of the 15 levies and bond issues passing in Hamilton County and the surrounding counties. —Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 1 Apr. 2024

The winner’s state of residence will also impact their take-home amount as some states like Texas and California don’t tax lottery winnings, while others like New York and New Jersey levy between 5% to 10.9%. —Siladitya Ray, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

Combined, that would save county taxpayers more than $200 million over the life of the new leases: $80 to $100 million in insurance costs and $140 million from the tax levy, according to the teams. —Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2024

Verb

The Associated Press Amazon pauses its fees Amazon is pausing the rollout of controversial new fees levied on its third-party sellers for a month to help sellers understand how the charges affect their business. —Alan Murray, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024

Opponents fear stiffer penalties would be levied disproportionately on patients of color or those with developmental disabilities. —Sejal Parekh, Sacramento Bee, 1 Apr. 2024

Larson’s proposal would extend the standard 12.4% payroll tax, which is levied this year on all wage income up to $168,600, to income over $400,000, leaving an income gap that would be narrowed over time. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024

This is happening despite California approving State Farm’s requests to levy double-digit premium increases last year. —Levi Sumagaysay, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024

Editors’ Picks In a separate civil case, Mr. Trump faces a judgment of more than $450 million levied by a New York State judge in a fraud lawsuit brought by Attorney General Letitia James. —Ben Protess, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024

The agency levied a $136,793 penalty, which the company, Rust Movie Productions LLC, was able to get reduced to $100,000 in a settlement. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 5 Mar. 2024

In Europe, regulators recently punished Apple for preventing music streaming competitors from communicating with users about promotions and options to upgrade their subscriptions, levying a 1.8 billion-euro fine. —Tripp Mickle, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024

For years, India has levied prohibitively high tariffs—as much as 100%—on imported foreign EVs. —Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 18 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French levé, literally, raising, from lever to raise — more at lever

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

levy

1 of 2 noun

ˈlev-ē 

plural levies

1

a

: the laying or collection especially of a tax

b

: an amount levied

2

: the calling of troops into service

levy

2 of 2 verb

levied; levying

1

: to establish or collect by legal authority

levy a tax

levy a fine

2

: to raise or collect troops for military service

Legal Definition

levy

1 of 2 noun

ˈle-vē 

plural levies

1

: an act of levying: as

a

: the imposition or collection of a tax

b

: the seizure according to a writ of execution of real or personal property in a judgment debtor's possession to satisfy a judgment debt

2

: an amount levied : tax

providing for a levy of 3% on income up to $10,000

—D. Q. Posin

levy

2 of 2 verb

levied; levying

transitive verb

1

: to impose or collect (as a tax or fine) with authority

allow it to levy stiffer penalties for some safety violations

—National Law Journal

2

: to enforce or carry into effect (a writ of execution) compare attach, garnish

intransitive verb

: to enforce a writ of execution or attachment

specifically : to make a seizure of real or personal property in a judgment debtor's possession

they might as a last resort levy on his merchandise

—J. J. White and R. S. Summers