1. The practice of deducting a certain amount from a person’s salary, wages, dividends, winnings, or other income, usu. for tax purposes; esp., an employer’s practice of taking out a portion of an employee’s gross earnings and paying that portion to the government for income-tax and social-security purposes. [Cases: Internal Revenue 4849; Taxation 1100. C.J.S. Internal Revenue §§ 740–741; Taxation§ 1779.]
2. The money so deducted. — Also termed income-tax withholding. — withhold, vb.