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 How to pronounce excise (audio)
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.

Examples of excise in a Sentence

Noun an excise imposed on a number of goods
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Altria’s revenue of $5.02 billion (net of excise taxes) in Q4 was down 1.2% y-o-y, primarily due to lower volume for both smokable and smokeless products. Trefis Team, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 For inquiries regarding excise taxes call 866-699-4096. The Arizona Republic, 18 Feb. 2024 New York and Connecticut levy excise taxes on cannabis that increase with potency, just as liquor is taxed at higher rates than beer. Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Jan. 2024 That was itself a small fraction of the $56 million in excise taxes on marijuana and $219 million from its 15% marijuana-specific sales tax the state collected in the fiscal year that ended in June. Meg Wingerter, The Denver Post, 4 Jan. 2024 Participants would be exempt from capital gains, conveyance and general excise taxes under this two-year program. Audrey McAvoy, Fortune, 23 Jan. 2024 In December 2022, the Congressional Budget Office described promising options for increasing federal excise taxes on alcoholic beverages which could create billions in new federal revenue over nine years. Cara Poland, STAT, 20 Dec. 2023 First, the tax authorities targeted soda, plastics, and hazardous chemicals with excise taxes. Nana Ama Sarfo, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 Sadiq Mohammed imported tobacco products from Florida and Illinois and claimed the items were from California to avoid paying the state’s excise taxes, according to charging documents filed by California Atty. Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023
Verb
Characters, subplots and volumes of dialogue (interior and otherwise) have again been reduced or excised altogether. Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 Now, the album's getting a new release that excises one of its most beloved songs. Dustin Nelson, EW.com, 21 Aug. 2023 Marvel dropped Majors hours after the conviction and is rewriting those movies, which will now either minimize the character or excise him entirely. Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024 The most rewarding part of watching and following this journey is to see this history radiating out into the world, to see people beginning to have conversations about it and filling in what too many Americans had really excised from their consciousness and their conscience. EW.com, 3 Nov. 2023 Netflix fired him from House of Cards in the wake of the claims, while filmmaker Ridley Scott reshot part of the feature All the Money in the World to excise him from the movie, replacing him with Christopher Plummer. Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Jan. 2024 Ultimately, your best bet for thoroughly removing a mole is to have a dermatologist fully excise it with a margin of clear skin around it — at least two millimeters, Dr. Mraz says. Marci Robin, Allure, 4 Jan. 2024 Search engines such as Google have free request forms to excise them from a name search, but what about a face search? WIRED, 20 Sep. 2023 All that remained was a massive pit of rubble mixed with skeletal remains excised from the blasts. Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 29 Jan. 2024

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 28 Mar. 2024.

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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!