gazump

American  

[guh-zuhmp] / gəˈzʌmp /

verb (used with object)

1. to cheat (a house buyer) by raising the price, at the time a contract is to be signed, over the amount originally agreed upon.

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noun

1. an act of gazumping.

gazump British  

/ ɡəˈzʌmp /

verb

1. to raise the price of something, esp a house, after agreeing a price verbally with (an intending buyer)

2. (tr) to swindle or overcharge

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noun

1. the act or an instance of gazumping

Other Word Forms

• gazumper noun

Etymology

Origin of gazump

First recorded in 1925–30; earlier gazoomph to swindle, argot word of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

But in his original column, Hornery claimed that Wilson had "opted to gazump the story" after he'd been in touch.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2022

He added that instead of responding, Wilson “opted to gazump the story” by announcing on Instagram that she is dating Agruma ahead of the paper’s publication — a decision Hornery called “underwhelming.”

From Washington Post • Jun. 13, 2022

A film about an underground ant colony, it seemed to gazump rival feature "A Bug's Life," which would appear in cinemas only a month later.

From Salon • May 1, 2021

Sure, it’s sneaky and underhanded to gazump Facebook like that, but Snapchat’s owed a bit of payback.

From The Guardian • Apr. 19, 2017

By contrast, Ms. Lively used her website to gazump all gossip sites by announcing her pregnancy, while Ms. Paltrow notoriously revealed that she and her husband at the time, Chris Martin, were separating on Goop.

From New York Times • Nov. 14, 2014