overcharge

American  

[oh-ver-chahrj, oh-ver-chahrj] / ˌoʊ vərˈtʃɑrdʒ, ˈoʊ vərˌtʃɑrdʒ /

verb (used with object)

overcharged, overcharging

1. to charge (a purchaser) too high a price.

   When the manager realized we'd been overcharged, she gave us a credit for the difference.

2. to fill too full; overload.

3. to exaggerate.

   to overcharge the importance of ancestry.

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verb (used without object)

overcharged, overcharging

1. to make an excessive charge; charge too much for something.

noun

1. a charge in excess of a stated or just price.

2. an act of overcharging.

3. an excessive load.

overcharge British  

verb

1. to charge too much

2. (tr) to fill or load beyond capacity

3. literary another word for exaggerate

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noun

1. an excessive price or charge

2. an excessive load

Other Word Forms

• overcharger noun

Etymology

Origin of overcharge

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; over-, charge

Example Sentences

Gosling stayed in character for the most part as an annoyed hotel patron who’s been overcharged for visits from the “Goo Goo Man.”

From Los Angeles Times

Under the agreement, Skims will be required to, for the next four years, “use best efforts” to refund customers who were overcharged sales taxes on their products in a “reasonably timely manner.”

From Los Angeles Times

Both the RAC and the AA said drivers were being overcharged for fuel.

From BBC

“The companies pulled their punches, and one company was left being the sole bidder on the contract and that involved a lot of overcharges to the good people of Texas,” Slater said.

From The Wall Street Journal

C. Meat packers are using “their position as middlemen to overcharge grocery stores and, ultimately, families.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cheat
• fleece
• overtax