death and taxes

noun

Something which is totally certain.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noundeath and taxes pl (plural only)
  1. idiomaticinformalpluralplural onlySomething which is totally certain.

    Nothing is ever solved forever. Like death and taxes, problems are always there to confront us.

    2007, William Jackson, The Incredible Death and Revival of William Morgan, page 143

Origin

By extension with sure as death and taxes.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

death and taxes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20and%20taxes

MLA

“death and taxes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20and%20taxes. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “death and taxes,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20and%20taxes.

Source: death and taxes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.