noun
excise
EHK-syz
noun
1
A tax on goods produced and sold within a country, as opposed to a tax on imports.
"Excise on alcohol and tobacco rose again this year."
verb
1
To cut something out or remove it, often surgically or editorially.
"The surgeon excised the tumor successfully."
"The editor excised an entire chapter before publication."
How to Use Excise
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither a domestic sales tax, or the act of cutting something out.
Common mistake
Don't confuse with "exercise" — the words look similar but are unrelated in meaning.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
excise duty
excise a tumor
excise a passage
Word Forms
excised past tense, excised past tense, excises plural, excises singular, excises singular
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_____ on alcohol and tobacco rose again this year.
Etymology
From Middle Dutch excijs, reshaped under the influence of Latin excisus ("cut out"), though the tax sense actually traces back to Old French acceis ("assessment").