Meanings
noundeath tax (plural death taxes)
plural death taxes
- USderogatorygovernmentInheritance tax.
Spurred by [Frank] Luntz, Republicans have employed the term “death tax” so aggressively that it has entered the popular lexicon.
[2001 December 19, Joshua Green, “Meet Mr. Death”, in The American Prospect, archived from the original on 15 Jun 2026
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna tax on the estate of the deceased person
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Popularized by American political consultant, author, and pollster Frank Luntz.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
death tax. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20tax
MLA
“death tax.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20tax. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “death tax,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20tax.
Source: death tax on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.