toll

1 of 5

noun (1)

1
: a tax or fee paid for some liberty or privilege (as of passing over a highway or bridge)
2
: compensation for services rendered: such as
a
: a charge for transportation
b
: a charge for a long-distance telephone call
3
: a grievous or ruinous price
inflation has taken its toll
especially : cost in life or health
the death toll from the hurricane

toll

2 of 5

verb (1)

tolled; tolling; tolls

intransitive verb

: to take or levy toll

transitive verb

1
a
: to exact part of as a toll
b
: to take as toll
2
: to exact a toll from (someone)

toll

3 of 5

verb (2)

tolled; tolling; tolls

intransitive verb

: to sound with slow measured strokes
the bell tolls solemnly

transitive verb

1
: to sound (a bell) by pulling the rope
2
a
: to give signal or announcement of
the clock tolled each hour
b
: to announce by tolling
church bells tolled the death of the bishop
c
: to call to or from a place or occasion
bells tolled the congregation to church

toll

4 of 5

noun (2)

: the sound of a tolling bell

toll

5 of 5

verb (3)

variants or tole
tolled or toled; tolling or toling

transitive verb

1
2
a
: to entice (game) to approach
b
: to attract (fish) with scattered bait
c
: to lead or attract (domestic animals) to a desired point

Examples of toll in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The smallest human act can take a toll on the planet. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 The storms’ full toll will not be clear for hours, but organizations are on the ground giving help. CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 Meanwhile, Haredi life has largely continued as usual, untouched by the war and its toll. Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024 To say that Timberlake has completed his transition into a family man is an understatement, and the album’s weaker moments pay its toll. Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024 All of these starts and stops, mild successes, and costly disappointments took a toll on the volunteer workforce. Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024 Israel’s military campaign into Gaza, waged in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks that killed around 1,200 Israeli civilians, has drawn outcry from progressives over its steep humanitarian toll. Laura Gersony, The Arizona Republic, 12 Mar. 2024 The true toll Covid’s confirmed death toll — more than seven million people worldwide — is horrific on its own, and the true toll is much worse. David Leonhardt, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 The next day, in a statement to Alcala Bach, the NTTA admitted its mistake — that the tolls were associated with license plates on cars that belonged to someone else. Steve Coffman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024
Verb
The name of Byron, for a long while, tolled like a bell. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 At the scene of the rail crash in Tempi, central Greece, relatives of the victims gathered for a memorial service as churches across the country tolled their bells 57 times Wednesday morning to honor the dead. Derek Gatopoulos and Costas Kantouris, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2024 Leon is about to be butchered by pitchfork and chainsaw-wielding Spanish farmers, but then a tolling bell suddenly psychically summons them away. WIRED, 22 June 2023 Observers noted that church bells regularly toll for Christians. Dave Orrick, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Apr. 2023 The church bell tolled four times as the names of the girls were read. Kimberly Chandler The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2023 New York City’s plan could toll drivers entering Manhattan below 60th street up to $23 and is set to begin as soon as spring 2024. Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 21 July 2023 Church bells tolled as the service began at 10 a.m. Afterward, Jarboe and other clerics filed out of the church, followed by a group of about a half-dozen men in dark suits, who slowly carried Wilkinson’s casket to a hearse. Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023 But in May, Gov. Tina Kotek directed ODOT to delay tolling until 2026 so that the state could further study its impact on local communities. oregonlive, 15 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'toll.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English, from Vulgar Latin *tolonium, alteration of Late Latin telonium customhouse, from Greek tolōnion, from telōnēs collector of tolls, from telos tax, toll; perhaps akin to Greek tlēnai to bear

Verb (2)

Middle English, to pull, drag, toll (a bell), perhaps alteration of toilen to struggle — more at toil

Verb (3)

Middle English tollen, tolen; akin to Old English fortyllan to seduce

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (3)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of toll was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near toll

Cite this Entry

“Toll.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toll. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

toll

1 of 3 noun
1
: a tax paid for a privilege (as the use of a highway or bridge)
2
: a charge paid for a service
3
: the cost in life or health
the death toll from the hurricane

toll

2 of 3 verb
1
: to announce or call by the sounding of a bell
2
: to sound with slow strokes
the bell tolls solemnly

toll

3 of 3 noun
: the sound of a tolling bell
Etymology

Noun

Middle English toll "a tax or fee paid to be allowed to do something," from early French toll (same meaning), derived from Latin telonium "a house where duties on imports are paid and ships' cargoes are checked," derived from Greek telos "tax, toll"

Verb

Middle English tollen "to pull, drag, or toll (a bell)," perhaps from Middle English toilen "to struggle"

Legal Definition

toll

1 of 3 noun
: a charge for the use of a transportation route or facility
broadly : a charge for use
a water toll

toll

2 of 3 verb

transitive verb

1
: to take away (as a right)
2
a
: to remove the effect of
the court did not toll the statute of repose after the statutory period had expired
b
: suspend sense 2a
toll the running of the statute of limitations
compare run

intransitive verb

: to be suspended
statute of limitations tolls for a period of seventy-five days following the noticeParker v. Yen, 823 S.W.2d 359 (1991)

toll

3 of 3 noun
: a suspension of effect
the court extended the statute of limitations toll
Etymology

Noun

Old English, tax or fee paid for a liberty or privilege, ultimately from Late Latin telonium custom house, from Greek tolōnion, from telōnēs collector of tolls, from telos tax, toll

Verb

Anglo-French tollir toller to take away, make null, bar, ultimately from Latin tollere to lift up, take away

More from Merriam-Webster on toll

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