Assess
//əˈsɛs// verb
verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To determine, estimate or judge the value of; to evaluate; to estimate. transitive
"He assessed the situation."
- 2 evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, or significance of wordnet
- 3 To impose or charge, especially as punishment for an infraction. transitive
"The referee assessed a penalty for delaying the game."
- 4 estimate the value of (property) for taxation wordnet
- 5 To calculate and demand (the tax money due) from a person or entity. transitive
"Once you've submitted a tax return, the Tax Department will assess the amount of tax you still owe."
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- 6 set or determine the amount of (a payment such as a fine) wordnet
- 7 charge (a person or a property) with a payment, such as a tax or a fine wordnet
Example
More examples"How do you assess your students?"
Etymology
From Middle English assessen, from Old French assesser, from Medieval Latin assessare, originally the frequentative of Latin assessus, past participle of assidēre, from ad (“to, towards, at”) + sedeō (“sit; settle down”). Cognate with Spanish asentar (“to settle”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.