What does "levy" mean?
The act of levying.
Levy
name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·2 syllables ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of levying.
- Grammar: levy is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: angary, annex, annexation, annexure.
- Useful contrasts: abolish, discharge, exempt.
- Usage evidence: The airport improvement levy seems higher than last year.
How to use "levy"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "levy" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "levy" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "levy" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "levy" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "levy" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "angary" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "levy", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of levying.
- 2 The Spanish real of one eighth of a dollar, valued at elevenpence when the dollar was rated at seven shillings and sixpence. Pennsylvania, US, Virginia, obsolete
- 3 the act of drafting into military service wordnet
- 4 The act of levying.; A conscription action.
"1835-1847, Connop Thirlwall, The History of Greece A levy of all the men left under sixty."
- 5 a charge imposed and collected wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 The things or people so levied.; A tax.; A tax paid in money.
"The Irish levies."
- 7 The things or people so levied.; A tax.; A tax in kind.
- 8 The things or people so levied.; Requisitioned supplies.
- 9 The things or people so levied.; A body of conscripts.
"To make up for their losses at the battle they [the professional army of Harold II, Anglo-Saxon King of England] had gathered levies of men from the counties they passed through on their way south. […] Ranged alongside these professionals were the levies: farmers and peasants, for the most part, who had been straggling in from all over the southern counties during the previous few days [before the Battle of Hastings in 1066]."
- 10 A shilling. obsolete, slang
Verb
- 1 To impose (a tax or fine) to collect monies due, or to confiscate property. transitive
"to levy a tax"
- 2 cause to assemble or enlist in military wordnet
- 3 To raise or collect by assessment; to exact by authority.
"If they do this […] my ransom, then, / Will soon be levied."
- 4 impose and collect wordnet
- 5 To draft someone into military service.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To raise; to collect; said of troops, to form into an army by enrollment, conscription. etc.
"Augustine […] inflamed Ethelbert, king of Kent, to levy his power, and to war against them."
- 7 To wage war.
- 8 To raise, as a siege.
"Albeit hee saw that the siege was levied"
- 9 To erect, build, or set up; to make or construct; to raise or cast up.
"The new levying or inhancing of Weares Mills"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Irish.
- 2 A Jewish surname from Hebrew.
"On some level, the filmmakers behind Monster Trucks must have recognized the ill fit of Till playing a teenager, because they cast Jane Levy, a 27-year-old who can pass for younger but not a decade younger, as Meredith, a nerdy classmate of Tripp’s who moons over him as she insists on making an appointment to tutor him in biology. […] Till is somewhere on the Hemsworth spectrum (more engaging than Liam; not as charismatic at Chris), but Levy is wholly charming as his enthusiastic sidekick."
- 3 A male given name.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The airport improvement levy seems higher than last year."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "levy"?
Common synonyms include: angary, annex, annexation, annexure, appeal to, ask.
How do you use "levy" in a sentence?
The airport improvement levy seems higher than last year.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Anglo-Norman leve, from Old French levee, from lever (“to raise”).
Etymology 2
Contraction of elevenpence.
Etymology 3
* As a Jewish surname, a variant of the biblical name Levi. Compare Lowy. * As a Czech surname, from the adjective levý (“left”). * Also a shortening of Irish Mac Duinnshléibhe (“son of the chief on the mountain”), from mac (“son”) + donn (“noble”) + sliabh (“mountain”).