death duty

noun

chiefly British

Examples of death duty in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Crippling taxes and death duties, among other economic forces, meant that many grand houses were demolished or left private hands, become commercial enterprises such as boutique hotels and nursing homes. Laura Euler For Dirt.com, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2021 But the big house on the estate had been blown up, because of the death duty (inheritance tax). Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024 Jennifer’s full line of death duty honors included the Fort Lauderdale police honor guard, and bagpipers and drummers from multiple municipalities. Chris Perkins, sun-sentinel.com, 20 Aug. 2021 Middle-class women learned to do it themselves; high taxation and death duties meant that big houses were divided or sold. Charlotte Mendelson, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2019 But such gifts still help reduce state death duties. Laura Saunders, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2018 In that case death duties would not be immediately payable, and the children’s education could be secured. The Economist, 12 Oct. 2017

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

Word History

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of death duty was in 1852

Dictionary Entries Near death duty

Cite this Entry

“Death duty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20duty. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!