exorbitant
Americanadjective
-
exceeding the bounds of custom, propriety, or reason, especially in amount or extent; highly excessive.
to charge an exorbitant price; exorbitant luxury.
-
Archaic. outside the authority of the law.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- exorbitance noun
- exorbitantly adverb
- unexorbitant adjective
- unexorbitantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of exorbitant
1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin exorbitant- (stem of exorbitāns, present participle of exorbitāre to go out of the track), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + orbit ( a ) wheel track ( orbit ) + -ant- -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He noted that ServiceNow is “spending more inorganically than it ever has, plus valuation is not exorbitant but still a premium.”
From MarketWatch
According to Ofsted, the lack of available places in legitimate settings has led to a shadow market of illegal care homes which charge "exorbitant fees".
From BBC
Poultry from Brazil, widely criticised for its poor quality, and fruit and vegetables from South Africa or Europe all flood Kinshasa supermarkets, often at exorbitant prices.
From Barron's
When alternatives become viable, the dollar’s “exorbitant privilege” — America’s ability to borrow cheaply and export inflation—disappears.
From MarketWatch
Despite exorbitant prices, the match was virtually sold out.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
