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toll

[ tohl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a payment or fee exacted by the state, the local authorities, etc., for some right or privilege, as for passage along a road or over a bridge.
the extent of loss, damage, suffering, etc., resulting from some action or calamity:
The toll was 300 persons dead or missing.
a tax, duty, or tribute, as for services or use of facilities.
Synonyms: , , ,
a payment made for a long-distance telephone call.
(formerly, in England) the right to take such payment.
a compensation for services, as for transportation or transmission.
grain retained by a miller in payment for grinding.

verb (used with object)

to collect (something) as toll.
to impose a tax or toll on (a person).

verb (used without object)

to collect toll; levy toll.

toll

[ tohl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

to cause (a large bell) to sound with single strokes slowly and regularly repeated, as for summoning a congregation to church, or especially for announcing a death.
to sound or strike (a knell, the hour, etc.) by such strokes:
In the distance Big Ben tolled five.
to announce by this means; ring a knell for (a dying or dead person).
to summon or dismiss by tolling.
to lure or decoy (game) by arousing curiosity.
to allure; entice:
He tolls us on with fine promises.

verb (used without object)

to sound with single strokes slowly and regularly repeated, as a bell.

noun

the act of tolling a bell.
one of the strokes made in tolling a bell.
the sound made.

toll

[ tohl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

Law.

to suspend or interrupt, as a statute of limitations.

toll

/ ��əʊ�� /

verb

to ring or cause to ring slowly and recurrently
tr to summon, warn, or announce by tolling
to decoy (game, esp ducks)

noun

the act or sound of tolling

toll

/ ��əʊ��; tɒl /

noun

1. an amount of money levied, esp for the use of certain roads, bridges, etc, to cover the cost of maintenance
2. ( as modifier )
  toll road
  toll bridge
loss or damage incurred through an accident, disaster, etc
the war took its toll of the inhabitants
Also calledtollage (formerly) the right to levy a toll
Also calledtoll charge a charge for a telephone call beyond a free-dialling area

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Word History and Origins

Origin of toll¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English tol(le), Old English noun toll “tax, levy, custom, toll” (cognate with Dutch tol, German Zoll, Old Norse tollr ), assimilated variant of Middle English toln(e), Old English toln, from Late Latin tolōnēum, telonium, teloneum for Latin �ٱ��ō��ŧ�ܳ� “customs post,” from Greek �ٱ��ō�Ա�î�ǲ� “tollhouse,” derivative of ��é��ǲ� “tax”; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of toll²

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English tollen, tol(le) “to entice, lure, pull,” hence probably “to make (a bell) ring by pulling a rope”; akin to Old English tyllan “to draw, attract,” found only in the compound verb fortyllan “to draw off, seduce”

Origin of toll³

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English tollen “to remove, legally annul,” from Anglo-French to(u)ller, from Latin tollere “to lift up, take away, remove”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of toll¹

C15: perhaps related to Old English -tyllan, as in fortyllan to attract

Origin of toll²

Old English toln; related to Old Frisian tolene, Old High German zol toll, from Late Latin �ٱ��ō�Ծ��ܳ� customs house, from Greek �ٱ��ó�Ծ��ǲ�, ultimately from telos tax

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Idioms and Phrases

see take its toll .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The ministry had earlier denied that it had manipulated death toll figures after media reports highlighted anomalies between the August and October 2024 and March 2025 lists of fatalities.

From

Over decades, the dams and increased diversions also took an environmental toll, drying up much of the once-vast wetlands in Mexico’s Colorado River Delta.

From

The first version of her model, now a web dashboard focused on multiple diseases called the Impact Counter estimating the death tolls caused by the funding freezes, terminations and the effective elimination of the U.S.

From

They said in a statement on Friday that "the toll of abuse" became too heavy in a statement confirming her death.

From

How much of a toll has has that gruelling cut taken on his body?

From

Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Tolkien, J. R. R.tollage

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