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definitions

highway robbery

See more synonyms for highway robbery on Thesaurus.com
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.

Origin of highway robbery

First recorded in 1770–80
Related formshighway robber, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for highway robbery

gouge, holdup, rip-off, banditry
British Dictionary definitions for highway robbery

highway robbery

noun
  1. informal blatant overcharging
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with highway robbery

highway robbery

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.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.