tax
tax — noun
1. a required payment to a local or national government, usually calculated as a pe
a required payment to a local or national government, usually calculated as a percentage of a person's earnings, a company's profits, or the price of goods and services bought, which funds the operation of schools, roads, hospitals, and other shared public needs.
Every employee in Brazil must pay income tax on their monthly salary.
collocation: pay + income tax
The government raised the tax on imported electronics to protect local factories.
collocation: tax on [product]
Haruto filed his annual tax return two weeks before the April deadline.
A portion of each paycheck goes toward local taxes that fund public schools.
The new tax on sugary drinks aims to reduce health problems among children.
文法句型
tax + on + [product/income]
pay + tax + on + [noun]
income tax / sales tax / property tax
用法筆記
Often used in compounds (income tax, sales tax, property tax). The preposition on introduces what is being taxed: tax on fuel, tax on luxury goods.
常見錯誤
2. a situation or activity that demands a great amount of a person's energy, patien
a situation or activity that demands a great amount of a person's energy, patience, or other personal resource, as if it were a cost they must pay.
The long commute was a heavy tax on Emre's energy every single day.
pattern: a tax on [abstract noun]
Caring for her sick mother placed a real tax on Gabriela's patience and strength.
All the secrecy and constant lies put a huge tax on their relationship.
The night-shift nurse felt that the long hours were becoming a tax on her health.
- relief
the removal or reduction of a burden or demand.
文法句型
a tax on + [abstract noun]
用法筆記
Always used as a singular noun in a tax on [something] structure. Metaphorical extension of sense 1; the subject is typically a demanding challenge, situation, or task.
常見錯誤
tax — verb
1. to legally require a person, company, or product to pay a percentage of their ea
to legally require a person, company, or product to pay a percentage of their earnings or value to the government.
The government taxes luxury goods at a higher rate than basic food items.
pattern: tax [product] at [rate]
Small businesses are taxed at a lower rate to help them grow and create jobs.
passive: be taxed at [rate]
Linh's freelance income is taxed differently from a regular employee salary.
Many countries tax tobacco products at a high rate to discourage smoking.
文法句型
tax + [person/business] + on + [income/product]
be taxed + at + [rate]
常見錯誤
2. to push a person's ability, patience, or physical resources to the limit, making
to push a person's ability, patience, or physical resources to the limit, making it very hard for them to continue.
The ten-hour flight with two crying babies taxed everyone's patience severely.
Climbing the mountain in heavy snow really taxed Ishaan's physical strength.
This complex math problem will tax even the brightest students in the class.
The Watanabe family's savings were taxed by months of unexpected medical bills.
- ease
to reduce the pressure or demand on someone or something.
文法句型
tax + [abstract noun: patience, strength, resources]
用法筆記
Frequently passive (be taxed by [something]) or used with abstract objects like patience, strength, resources, credibility. The subject is always a demanding situation or task.
常見錯誤
3. to officially calculate and set the amount of legal costs or court expenses that
to officially calculate and set the amount of legal costs or court expenses that one party must pay in a legal case.
After the trial ended, the judge taxed the legal costs against the losing party.
pattern: tax costs against [party]
The court clerk taxed the expenses at a total of forty thousand dollars.
pattern: tax expenses at [amount]
A specialist officer was appointed to tax the costs in the complex civil case.
The litigation officer asked the High Court to tax the defence costs before the appeal.
文法句型
tax + [costs/expenses] + against + [party]
用法筆記
Primarily used in British legal practice. In modern UK courts the term has largely been replaced by assess or determine, but taxing costs remains a recognized legal phrase. Not used in everyday conversation.
tax — combining form
1. a word element derived from Greek meaning order, arrangement, or classification,
a word element derived from Greek meaning order, arrangement, or classification, used in technical and scientific compounds such as taxonomy (the science of classification) and taxidermy (the art of arranging animal skins for display).
The biology students used a taxonomy chart to sort the insects they found in the forest.
compound example: taxonomy
A taxonomist at the museum spent three years classifying the newly discovered beetle species.
compound example: taxonomist
The museum hired a specialist in taxidermy to prepare the bird exhibit.
Botanists use a detailed taxonomy to name and arrange plant species.
文法句型
tax- + [noun suffix]
用法筆記
This combining form comes from a different Greek root (taxis = arrangement) than the money-related meanings of tax, which derive from Latin taxare. It appears almost exclusively in academic and scientific compounds. Learners should recognize it for reading comprehension rather than active use.