The meaning of CESS is luck —usually used in the phrase bad cess to you.

Cess (pronounced / sɛs /) is a tax - generally one levied for promoting services like health and education. Governments often charge a cess for the purpose of development in social sectors.

Nov 1, 2025 · cess (plural cesses) (British, Ireland, India) An assessed tax, duty, or levy; billeting. quotations

CESS definition: a tax, assessment, or lien. See examples of cess used in a sentence.

cess in American English (sɛs ) noun Origin: prob. < assess in Ireland, an assessment; tax [now used only in bad cess to, bad luck to]

There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun cess, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

-cess-, root. -cess- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning "move, yield.'' It is related to -cede-. This meaning is found in such words as: access, accessible, accessory, cession, …

Define cess. cess synonyms, cess pronunciation, cess translation, English dictionary definition of cess. n. Irish Luck. American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

Sep 21, 2025 · Cess, in contemporary usage, generally refers to a tax or levy imposed by a government or authority on specific goods, transactions, or entities. This term is often used in …

Shortened form of assess, spelled by analogy with census and other Latinate words. Possibly from an archaic dialect word meaning "bog". French cesser. See cease.