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
Tourism to the world's tallest mountain has continued to surge despite a mark-up in permit fees.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
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
Pharmacies and other private weight-loss services will add their own mark-up to consumers, but it means the price rise for patients is unlikely to be as large as initially feared.
From BBC • Aug. 28, 2025
He had his five-frog margin and also he had the grocery mark-up.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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.
