toll1

[tohl] /toʊl/
noun
1.
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.
2.
the extent of loss, damage, suffering, etc., resulting from some action or calamity:
The toll was 300 persons dead or missing.
3.
a tax, duty, or tribute, as for services or use of facilities.
4.
a payment made for a long-distance telephone call.
5.
(formerly, in England) the right to take such payment.
6.
a compensation for services, as for transportation or transmission.
7.
grain retained by a miller in payment for grinding.
verb (used with object)
8.
to collect (something) as toll.
9.
to impose a tax or toll on (a person).
verb (used without object)
10.
to collect toll; levy toll.
Origin
before 1000; (noun) Middle English, Old English toll (cognate with Dutch tol, German Zoll, Old Norse tollr), assimilated variant of Old English toln < Late Latin tolōnēum, for telōnēum < Greek telōneîon tollhouse, akin to telṓnēs tax collector, télos tax; (v.) Middle English tollen, derivative of the noun
Synonyms
3. tariff, levy, impost, exaction.

toll2

[tohl] /toʊl/
verb (used with object), Also, tole (for defs 5, 6).
1.
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.
2.
to sound or strike (a knell, the hour, etc.) by such strokes:
In the distance Big Ben tolled five.
3.
to announce by this means; ring a knell for (a dying or dead person).
4.
to summon or dismiss by tolling.
5.
to lure or decoy (game) by arousing curiosity.
6.
to allure; entice:
He tolls us on with fine promises.
verb (used without object)
7.
to sound with single strokes slowly and regularly repeated, as a bell.
noun
8.
the act of tolling a bell.
9.
one of the strokes made in tolling a bell.
10.
the sound made.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English tollen to entice, lure, pull, hence probably to make (a bell) ring by pulling a rope; akin to Old English -tyllan, in fortyllan to attract, allure

toll3

[tohl] /toʊl/
verb (used with object), Law.
1.
to suspend or interrupt (as a statute of limitations).
Origin
1425-75; late Middle English tollen to remove, legally annul < Anglo-French tolre, tol(l)er < Latin tollere to remove, take away
Examples from the web for toll
  • Airplane pollution deaths still represent a small share of the toll from all kinds of air pollution.
  • He said two decades of declining state support has taken its toll on public research universities.
  • Studies have shown that automated systems result in major decreases in toll plaza delays and air pollution.
  • Soaring summer temperatures can take a toll on many garden plants.
  • Speaking of big, all that concrete comes with a plus sized toll.
  • However, if the economy continues to stumble, it could take a toll on next year's job market.
  • Changing diet, with a growing emphasis on meat, illustrates the environmental and societal toll exacted by unbridled consumption.
  • Radio-frequency identification tags label all kinds of inventoried goods and speed commuters through toll plazas.
  • Cool, wet spring and extra cool summer has taken its toll on everyone over here.
  • The college admissions process may stress out students and parents, but it takes a toll on family pets, too.
British Dictionary definitions for toll

toll1

/təʊl/
verb
1.
to ring or cause to ring slowly and recurrently
2.
(transitive) to summon, warn, or announce by tolling
3.
(US & Canadian) to decoy (game, esp ducks)
noun
4.
the act or sound of tolling
Word Origin
C15: perhaps related to Old English -tyllan, as in fortyllan to attract

toll2

/təʊl; tɒl/
noun
1.
  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
2.
loss or damage incurred through an accident, disaster, etc: the war took its toll of the inhabitants
3.
Also called tollage. (formerly) the right to levy a toll
4.
(NZ) Also called toll charge. a charge for a telephone call beyond a free-dialling area
Word Origin
Old English toln; related to Old Frisian tolene, Old High German zol toll, from Late Latin telōnium customs house, from Greek telónion, ultimately from telos tax
Word Origin and History for toll
n.

"tax, fee," Old English toll, variant of toln, cognate with Old Norse tollr, Old Frisian tolen, Old High German zol, German Zoll, representing an early Germanic borrowing from Late Latin tolonium "custom house," from Latin telonium "tollhouse," from Greek teloneion "tollhouse," from telones "tax-collector," from telos "tax" (see tele-; for sense, cf. finance). Originally in a general sense of "payment exacted by an authority;" meaning "charge for right of passage along a road" is from late 15c.

v.

"to sound with single strokes," mid-15c., probably a special use of tollen "to draw, lure," early 13c. variant of Old English -tyllan in betyllan "to lure, decoy," and fortyllan "draw away, seduce," of obscure origin. The notion is perhaps of "luring" people to church with the sound of the bells, or of "drawing" on the bell rope. Related: Tolled; tolling.

toll in the Bible

one of the branches of the king of Persia's revenues (Ezra 4:13; 7:24), probably a tax levied from those who used the bridges and fords and highways.

Idioms and Phrases with toll

toll

see: take its toll