highway robbery

American  

noun

1. robbery committed on a highway against travelers, as by a highwayman.

2. Informal. a price or fee that is unreasonably high; exorbitant charge.

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highway robbery British  

noun

1. informal blatant overcharging

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highway robbery Idioms  

1. The exaction of an exorbitantly high price or fee. For example, You paid ten dollars for that meat? That's highway robbery. This term, used figuratively since the late 1800s, alludes to literal robbery of travelers on or near a public road.

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Other Word Forms

• highway robber
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of highway robbery

First recorded in 1770–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

highway robbery

X user @BlackPanthaa called the new Xbox Series S price, external "absolutely disgusting", while a Reddit user said, external it was "highway robbery for a console released 6 years ago".

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Molly got five bucks, and Fred let her know it was frickin’ highway robbery.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2021

“This is highway robbery without a gun. It’s not just us that they’re taking from. It’s our families who struggle to make ends meet and send us money, they are the real victims.”

From The Guardian ● Jan. 15, 2018

What they will receive—or at least, what he wants to offer—is highway robbery.

From Slate ● May 23, 2017

This was the most astonishing tale of highway robbery Carson had ever heard.

From Poppy The Story of a South African Girl by Cynthia Stockley

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