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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
Jackie Snow, Quartz, 13 Jan. 2025
Everyone understood that the latter included both excise taxes and tariff duties, and most anticipated that these levies would be the principal sources of federal revenue.
—Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 7 Feb. 2025
How else does one explain the hypocrisy of claiming to value LGBTQ+ creators, audiences and employees, then forging lucrative, multiyear relationships with transphobic comics or excising a trans storyline from a children’s series?
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for excise 
Dictionary Entries Near excise
Cite this Entry
“Excise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excise. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
excise
1 of 2 noun
excise
2 of 2 verb
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
Legal Definition
excise
noun
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