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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
Nathan Lewis, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
In addition, businesses whose products and services incur high costs on governments and infrastructure–think excise taxes on diesel fuel and tires for trucking—also rightly pay more.
—Eileen McCarron, The Denver Post, 1 Oct. 2024
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
For example, Jim Crow-era geography teaching manuals excised from maps any detail that tended to disprove the history of a superior white race.
—Emmanuel Iduma, ARTnews.com, 16 Sep. 2024
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 22 Nov. 2024.
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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