highway robbery

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See synonyms for: highway robbery / highway robber on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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

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Origin of highway robbery

First recorded in 1770–80

OTHER WORDS FROM highway robbery

highway robber, noun

Words nearby highway robbery

highway, Highway Code, highway contract route, highwayman, highway patrol, highway robbery, high wine, high wire, high-wire act, high-wrought, High Wycombe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use highway robbery in a sentence

Molly got five bucks, and Fred let her know it was frickin’ highway robbery.
Gene Weingarten: Meet Fred, the Tooth Fairy|Gene Weingarten|March 25, 2021|Washington Post
It was a brick wall that we turned into the on-ramp of a highway.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Cruce operates the Iron Hill Campground on the other side of the highway.
The 7-Year-Old Plane Crash Survivor’s Brutal Journey Through the Woods|James Higdon|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Hundreds of cops saluting as the bodies were rolled out with a full escort by highway patrol.
Anger at The Cop Killer - And The Police|M.L. Nestel|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Last week members helped shut down the West Side Highway, a major roadway in New York.
Eric Garner Protesters Have a Direct Line to City Hall|Jacob Siegel|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Highway safety flares provided light as the clans joined by loss sought solace in prayer and song.
The Cleveland Cops Who Fired 137 Shots and Cried Victim|Michael Daly|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An automobilist must exercise reasonable or ordinary care to avoid injury to other persons using the highway.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
This rule however does not apply to travelers walking along a rural highway.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
He must keep a reasonably careful lookout for other travelers in order to avoid collision; also for defects in the highway.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
A big touring car stood in the narrow lane, headed toward the broad highway from which Jessie and Amy had come.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn|Margaret Penrose
Go not out into the fields, nor walk in the highway: for the sword of the enemy, and fear is on every side.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

British Dictionary definitions for highway robbery

highway robbery

noun

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

Other 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.

highway robbery

Origin of highway robbery

OTHER WORDS FROM highway robbery

Words nearby highway robbery

Words related to highway robbery

How to use highway robbery in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for highway robbery

Other Idioms and Phrases with highway robbery