toll

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈtōl 

1

: a tax or fee paid for some liberty or privilege (as of passing over a highway or bridge)

2

: compensation for services rendered: such as

a

: a charge for transportation

b

: a charge for a long-distance telephone call

3

: a grievous or ruinous price

inflation has taken its toll

especially : cost in life or health

the death toll from the hurricane

toll

2 of 5

verb (1)

tolled; tolling; tolls

intransitive verb

: to take or levy toll

transitive verb

1

a

: to exact part of as a toll

b

: to take as toll

2

: to exact a toll from (someone)

toll

3 of 5

verb (2)

tolled; tolling; tolls

intransitive verb

: to sound with slow measured strokes

the bell tolls solemnly

transitive verb

1

: to sound (a bell) by pulling the rope

2

a

: to give signal or announcement of

the clock tolled each hour

b

: to announce by tolling

church bells tolled the death of the bishop

c

: to call to or from a place or occasion

bells tolled the congregation to church

toll

4 of 5

noun (2)

: the sound of a tolling bell

toll

5 of 5

verb (3)

ˈtōl 

variants or tole

tolled or toled; tolling or toling

transitive verb

1

: allure, entice

2

a

: to entice (game) to approach

b

: to attract (fish) with scattered bait

c

: to lead or attract (domestic animals) to a desired point

Synonyms

Verb (2)

• bong
• chime
• knell
• peal
• ring

Examples of toll in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Personal life took a toll on me, but we here today. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 22 Apr. 2024

The lawsuit could block or upend the new tolls, which are expected to begin in mid-June. —Chelsia Rose Marcius, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024

Following my herniation and tracheotomy, things really began to take a toll on me. —Christy Bullock, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024

The historic toll of eminent domain — government’s taking of private property for public use — on California’s Black communities and Black Californians’ generational wealth is behind Bradford’s Senate Bill 1050, which passed with a 6-1 vote in the state Senate Judiciary Committee. —Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 19 Apr. 2024

Year by year, exhibition by exhibition, housesit by housesit, Wilson shows how the art world left him dirt poor despite his ever-growing CV, took a toll on his mental and physical health, and killed his idealism. —Longreads, 19 Apr. 2024

Boeing’s temporary grounding—and now a Federal Aviation Administration review of United’s safety practices—has dramatically slowed deliveries of aircraft, which is taking a toll on the airline. —Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024

Last year, the toll was 624, an average of one person every 14 hours. —Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2024

The expansive security cooperation stood in contrast to Israel’s recent isolation over the civilian toll of its war against Hamas in Gaza, and gave the country what analysts described as a rare chance to assemble an anti-Iran coalition. —Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024

Verb

To mitigate any negative impact of congestion pricing, the M.T.A. has proposed limiting the number of times that drivers of taxis and for-hire vehicles can be tolled, giving certain low-income drivers a discount and increasing discounts for those driving into the area overnight. —Ana Ley, New York Times, 26 June 2023

The name of Byron, for a long while, tolled like a bell. —Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024

At the scene of the rail crash in Tempi, central Greece, relatives of the victims gathered for a memorial service as churches across the country tolled their bells 57 times Wednesday morning to honor the dead. —Derek Gatopoulos and Costas Kantouris, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2024

Leon is about to be butchered by pitchfork and chainsaw-wielding Spanish farmers, but then a tolling bell suddenly psychically summons them away. —WIRED, 22 June 2023

Observers noted that church bells regularly toll for Christians. —Dave Orrick, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Apr. 2023

The church bell tolled four times as the names of the girls were read. —Kimberly Chandler The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2023

New York City’s plan could toll drivers entering Manhattan below 60th street up to $23 and is set to begin as soon as spring 2024. —Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 21 July 2023

Church bells tolled as the service began at 10 a.m. Afterward, Jarboe and other clerics filed out of the church, followed by a group of about a half-dozen men in dark suits, who slowly carried Wilkinson’s casket to a hearse. —Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English, from Vulgar Latin *tolonium, alteration of Late Latin telonium customhouse, from Greek tolōnion, from telōnēs collector of tolls, from telos tax, toll; perhaps akin to Greek tlēnai to bear

Verb (2)

Middle English, to pull, drag, toll (a bell), perhaps alteration of toilen to struggle — more at toil

Verb (3)

Middle English tollen, tolen; akin to Old English fortyllan to seduce

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (3)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing toll

• death toll
• sound/ring/toll the death knell
• take a/its toll
• toll call
• toll-free
• toll plaza

Kids Definition

toll

1 of 3 noun

ˈtōl 

1

: a tax paid for a privilege (as the use of a highway or bridge)

2

: a charge paid for a service

3

: the cost in life or health

the death toll from the hurricane

toll

2 of 3 verb

1

: to announce or call by the sounding of a bell

2

: to sound with slow strokes

the bell tolls solemnly

toll

3 of 3 noun

: the sound of a tolling bell

Etymology

Noun

Middle English toll "a tax or fee paid to be allowed to do something," from early French toll (same meaning), derived from Latin telonium "a house where duties on imports are paid and ships' cargoes are checked," derived from Greek telos "tax, toll"

Verb

Middle English tollen "to pull, drag, or toll (a bell)," perhaps from Middle English toilen "to struggle"

Legal Definition

toll

1 of 3 noun

: a charge for the use of a transportation route or facility

broadly : a charge for use

a water toll

toll

2 of 3 verb

transitive verb

1

: to take away (as a right)

2

a

: to remove the effect of

the court did not toll the statute of repose after the statutory period had expired

b

: suspend sense 2a

toll the running of the statute of limitations

compare run

intransitive verb

: to be suspended

statute of limitations tolls for a period of seventy-five days following the notice

—Parker v. Yen, 823 S.W.2d 359 (1991)

toll

3 of 3 noun

: a suspension of effect

the court extended the statute of limitations toll

Etymology

Noun

Old English, tax or fee paid for a liberty or privilege, ultimately from Late Latin telonium custom house, from Greek tolōnion, from telōnēs collector of tolls, from telos tax, toll

Verb

Anglo-French tollir toller to take away, make null, bar, ultimately from Latin tollere to lift up, take away