Deface by drawing, cutting, or another means of covering something with marks. For example, John was punished for marking up his desk , or These shoes really mark up the floor .
a percentage or amount added to the cost of a commodity to provide the seller with a profit and to cover overheads, costs, etc
an increase in the price of a commodity
the amount of this increase
to add a percentage for profit, overheads, etc, to the cost of (a commodity)
to increase the price of
Deface by drawing, cutting, or another means of covering something with marks. For example, John was punished for marking up his desk , or These shoes really mark up the floor .
Raise the price of something, as in This small shop marks up its merchandise much more than department stores do . [Second half of 1800s]
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Like many others, McIntosh hoped to get his hands on the brightly coloured watch -- sold in store for $400 to $420 to resell it immediately at a huge mark-up.
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
That's where a third-party buys products from a wholesaler and sells them with a significant mark-up, having never seen the product themselves.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
Resale platforms and ticket touts often list tickets at a huge mark-up on their face value price, sparking outrage from the music industry and fans alike.
From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025
"I'm selling the rechargeable at the same price but with less of a mark-up."
From BBC ● May 23, 2025
He had his five-frog margin and also he had the grocery mark-up.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
This week’s example: The House Administration Committee will today mark up legislation that would tighten the restrictions on lawmakers who engage in stock trading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
But she has had to mark up new inventory.
From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025
Lucy tries to mark up her clients’ value to each other, next selling Sophie on a strapping 5-foot-11 bachelor while leaving out that her personal assessment of him is that he’s charmless and boring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2025
In any event, the weeks of private negotiation will end soon, as the committee overseeing Medicaid is expected to reveal and mark up its section of the Big Bill next week.
From Slate ● May 10, 2025
He followed the drag mark up to the foot of a big tree and found the remains of the carcase, fully 300 pounds in weight, in a fork more than twenty feet from the ground.
From Jock of the Bushveld by Fitzpatrick, Percy, Sir
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.
