as in taxes
a charge usually of money collected by the government from people or businesses for public use
the legislators approved a new levy on imported cattle to help protect American ranchers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in drafts
to pick especially for required military service
unprepared for war, the government was forced to levy young citizens on a scale that was unprecedented in its history
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imposes
to establish or apply as a charge or penalty
the baseball commissioner levied a fine against every player involved in the fracas
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of levies
Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026
The FairTax Act of 2025 was the latest bid to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace income tax and other levies with a national sales tax.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 6 Jan. 2026
Meanwhile, Beijing has imposed levies of its own, raising tariffs as high as 55% on some beef imports from the US and Brazil.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 2 Jan. 2026
In other countries with levies and similar diktats, streamers have shown caution, but their local ambitions may supersede reservations – Australia has provided hits such as The Artful Dodger, Colin From Accounts and The Newsreader in recent years.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 30 Dec. 2025
Others had to cut orders for fear of not having enough cash to pay the levies when their inventory arrived in the United States.
—Aaron Gregg, Arkansas Online, 29 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, the market is awaiting the outcome of a US Section 232 probe into critical minerals, which could lead to levies or other trade restrictions on the metal.
—Jack Ryan, Bloomberg, 29 Dec. 2025
Tax levies look to be increasing across the board.
—Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 23 Dec. 2025
However, past tariffs have not been nearly as steep, and several of the affected companies told the WSJ that the levies feel disproportionate.
—Reia Li, AZCentral.com, 11 Nov. 2025
Idaho Statesman, 10 Dec. 2025
Casting blame on Tylenol for autism wrongly positions the condition as a problem—and levies unfair guilt on moms.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 23 Sep. 2025
Unlike the blanket levies the US imposed on much of the world in April, the steel and aluminum tariffs are not the target of litigation making its way to the Supreme Court.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Commerce City levies $16,501 in use tax on a typical home, while Arapahoe County charges $539.
—Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
However, this tax liability does not stop at the federal level, as Wisconsin also levies an income tax.
—Nathan Goldman, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
By his tally, 39 districts asked for some kind of relief in 2025, including raising mill levies or asking voters to uncap revenue collection.
—Verb
Idaho already levies an additional $140 annual fee for electric vehicle owners and in 2021, lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to double these fees.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for levies
Verb
-
Tommy drafts your characters to join him in combating whatever comes next.—
-
Elected leaders give city management direction and OK ordinances, while city staff executes those decisions and drafts policies or proposals for the council to consider.—
Verb
-
Almost every state imposes sales tax, except for Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon, which instead allows cities to charge a local sales tax.—
-
The levy increases rates on hotel room and vacation rental stays but also imposes a new 11% tax on the gross fares paid by a cruise ship's passenger, prorated for the number of days the vessels are in Hawaii ports.—
Verb
-
The bank actively recruits from a broad selection of schools worldwide and particularly values candidates with STEM backgrounds, given that Goldman employs over 10,000 engineers.—
-
Mamdani on Friday also appointed Ali Najmi, an election lawyer and longtime friend, to lead his Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, which recruits and recommends judges for family and criminal courts and interim appointees for civil courts.—
Verb
-
As an analysis by SpaceNews explains, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, one of the most affordable rides to space, charges customers about $2,500 per kilogram of payload.—
-
The felony charges the couple initially faced were gone.—
Verb
-
Watchdog Fintrac fines crypto exchange Cryptomus some $126 million for failing to flag potentially criminal transactions.—
Cite this Entry
“Levies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/levies. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share