tariff
/ˈtæɹəf/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.49 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A system of government-imposed duties levied on imported or exported goods; a list of such duties, or the duties themselves.
noun
A sentence determined according to a scale of standard penalties for certain categories of crime.
British usage
Example Sentences
- "This question may be placed in another light. It is agreed on all sides, that numbers are the best scale of wealth and taxation, as they are the only proper scale of representation. Would the convention have been impartial or consistent, if they had rejected the slaves from the list of inhabitants, when the shares of representation were to be calculated, and inserted them on the lists when the tariff of contributions was to be adjusted?"
- "For the sake of this support, the party advocated for agricultural tariffs, for antimargarine laws, and for restrictions on meat importation."
- "Possibly Wallonians bought goods in Flanders that they could have obtained cheaper in Holland if it were not for the tariff."
- "It’s been nearly four years since China put tariffs on American-grown soybeans during a tit-for-tat trade war with then-President Donald Trump – and they remain in place despite the change in administrations."
- "Speaking to press in the Oval Office on Friday after signing executive orders, Trump said the tariff would apply to any phone maker selling devices in the US."
- "Under a peak/off-peak electricity tariff, you pay a lower rate for the power when demand is less."
Etymology
From Italian tariffa (“arithmetical table; list of customs duties”), from Arabic تَعْرِيف (taʕrīf, “notification, explanation”). Equivalent to Portuguese and Spanish tarifa and the French tarif and first attested in 1592.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: tariffa, تَعْرِيف
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈtæɹəf/
- British English: /ˈtæɹɪf/
Usage
- British usage
- Transitive verb