assess
verb
as·sess
| \ ə-ˈses
, a-\
, a-\
assessed;
assessing;
assesses
Definition of assess
1
: to determine the rate or amount of (something, such as a tax, charge, or fine)
2a
: to impose (something, such as a tax) according to an established rate
b
: to subject to a tax, charge, or levy
Every homeowner will be assessed a tax according to the value of the property.
3
: to make an official valuation of (property) for the purposes of taxation
Their property is assessed at $200,000.
4
: to determine the importance, size, or value of
assess a problem assess the damage
5
sports
: to charge (a player or team) with a foul or penalty
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Other Words from assess
assessable
\ -ˈse-sə-bəl
\
adjective
\
adjective
Synonyms & Antonyms for assess
Synonyms
charge, exact, fine, impose, lay, levy, put
Antonyms
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Examples of assess in a Sentence
Cornell graduate student James Tanner spent three years in the early 1940s slogging southern swamps and bayous to assess where and how the species could be saved. By his reckoning, no more than twenty-four ivory-bills remained in the entire Southeast.
— John Terborgh, New York Review of Books, 26 Apr. 2007
When the training staff determined that Everett had no mobility below his neck, Cappuccino was waved onto the field. He performed a quick battery of tests to assess the severity of the injury, squeezing various parts of Everett's body and asking him to respond.
— Tim Layden, Sports Illustrated, 17 Dec. 2007
Tetlock found that his experts used a double standard: they were much tougher in assessing the validity of information that undercut their theory than they were in crediting information that supported it.
— Louis Menand, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2005
Briefly, the way it works is this. Every time a hog is sold, the seller is assessed 40 cents per $100 of sale value to promote the consumption of pork.
— Warren R. Ross, UU World, Fall 2005
After the hurricane, officials assessed the town's need for aid.
We need to assess whether or not the system is working.
Damage to the boat was assessed at $5,000.
The company was assessed $12 million in fines for polluting the river.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Dennis Wall is a Stanford researcher and a co-founder of Cognoa, an app that combines a parent questionnaire and AI video analysis to assess autism risk in young children. — Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic, "Medical Researchers Want Your YouTube Videos," 9 Sep. 2019 Government spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele said officials in South Africa were currently assessing the threat and did not yet know when the diplomatic missions would reopen. — Stephanie Busari, Brent Swails, And Bukola Adebayo, CNN, "South Africa closes embassies in Nigeria, fearing reprisal attacks," 5 Sep. 2019 Subissi, who now works at the WHO, said a task force at the U.N. health agency is assessing the findings to determine whether strategies to monitor Ebola survivors should be changed. — Washington Post, "Ebola survivors at higher risk of dying, even after recovery," 4 Sep. 2019 Scientists instead look at patterns to assess how storms are changing over time. — Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, "How warm oceans supercharge deadly hurricanes," 4 Sep. 2019 Canada had favored Cerro Honar as the best backup site, so when the TMT chose the ORM, Canadian funders set up an independent committee to assess the implications. — Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, "Stalled in Hawaii, giant telescope faces roadblocks at its backup site in the Canary Islands," 3 Sep. 2019 The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said Wednesday evening that crews were assessing the electrical grid to see if Dorian had caused damage. — New York Times, "Hurricane Dorian Spares Puerto Rico as Florida Prepares for Landfall," 28 Aug. 2019 The psychological makeup necessary for the job is difficult to assess, particularly for those who haven’t been tested in real games with real consequences. — Kalyn Kahler, SI.com, "Madness at 43 Yards: The Bears Kicker Competition Through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It," 21 Aug. 2019 The latest report shows that officials assessed all buildings, utilities and facilities — 3,598 structures in all — for 13 days after the earthquakes and found damage totaled $5.2 billion. — Los Angeles Times, "Ridgecrest earthquakes caused up to $5 billion in damage to China Lake naval base," 14 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'assess.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for assess
assess
verb
English Language Learners Definition of assess
: to make a judgment about (something)
: to officially say what the amount, value, or rate of (something) is
: to tax or charge (someone or something) : to require (a person, business, etc.) to pay a particular amount of money
See the full definition for assess in the English Language Learners Dictionary
assess
verb
as·sess
| \ ə-ˈses
\
\
assessed;
assessing
Kids Definition of assess
1
: to make a judgment about
The school assessed the students' progress each year.
2
: to decide on the rate, value, or amount of (as for taxation)
The jury assessed damages of $5000. The house was assessed at $140,000.
3
: to put a charge or tax on
The city assessed all car owners a fee.