1. a tax or levy, especially a property tax or assessment
Usage: chiefly historical or regional; common in Irish and British English
2. luck or fortune, especially bad luck
Usage: informal; chiefly Irish

Examples

• The landowner was required to pay a cess on his property each year.
• In medieval times, a cess was imposed on the local population to fund the king's army.
• Bad cess to you! he exclaimed in frustration.
• The village collected a cess to repair the roads.
• She had the worst cess and lost her keys three times in one week.