overcharge
Americanverb (used with object)
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to charge (a purchaser) too high a price.
When the manager realized we'd been overcharged, she gave us a credit for the difference.
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to fill too full; overload.
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to exaggerate.
to overcharge the importance of ancestry.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a charge in excess of a stated or just price.
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an act of overcharging.
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an excessive load.
verb
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to charge too much
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(tr) to fill or load beyond capacity
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literary another word for exaggerate
noun
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an excessive price or charge
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an excessive load
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overchargesimple
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overchargessimple
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have overchargedperfect
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has overchargedperfect
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am overchargingprogressive
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are overchargingprogressive
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is overchargingprogressive
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have been overchargingperfect progressive
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has been overchargingperfect progressive
Past
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overchargedsimple
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had overchargedperfect
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was overchargingprogressive
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were overchargingprogressive
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had been overchargingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overcharge
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at over-, charge
Explanation
If a shopkeeper overcharges you, they ask you to pay too much for something. To overcharge isn't very honest, but it's not usually illegal either. Sometimes it's obvious that someone is trying to overcharge you: if the taxi driver announces that you owe her a hundred dollars after driving a route that usually costs about twenty, you can call that a blatant overcharge. In other cases, you may not realize until much later. It's not uncommon for salespeople to overcharge tourists, for example, making them pay too much money because they don't know any better.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“It is reprehensible to overcharge and take advantage of wildfire victims who were in desperate need of housing as they fled their homes from raging fires last year,” Los Angeles County Dist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
C. Meat packers are using “their position as middlemen to overcharge grocery stores and, ultimately, families.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025
The lack of transparency enables PBMs to overcharge patients and health plans.
From Salon ● May 31, 2025
Due to this capture, Google is able to overcharge text-ad clients and shroud its actual terms in secrecy in a way that it hasn’t with more visually oriented ads.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2024
“Well, me bye, I’ll not overcharge ye,” she replied.
From The Corner House Girls Among the Gypsies How They Met, What Happened, and How It Ended by Hill, Grace Brooks
And earlier this year, a jury found that Live Nation was an illegal monopoly, following years of criticism that the company stifles competition and overcharges fans, but analysts say a breakup is unlikely.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
“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 ● Dec. 4, 2025
State officials in Florida sued the company last year, claiming it overbilled the state by nearly $5.8 million for pandemic-response work and refused repayment after the overcharges were identified.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2025
It seeks compensation for overcharges, plus fees and other damages, and a trial by jury.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2024
These books disclosed that Mr. Yerkes and his associates, Widener and Elkins, had made many millions in reconstructing the Chicago lines at prices which represented gross overcharges to the stockholders.
From The Age of Big Business; a chronicle of the captains of industry by Hendrick, Burton Jesse
Devices are at most risk when they are overcharged, malfunctioning or damaged, which can cause components to break down and release excess heat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
“This agreement protects patients from unnecessary treatment or getting overcharged, ensures access to medical care and legal representation, and strengthens safety measures.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
The jury also found that Live Nation overcharged fans by $1.72 per concert ticket.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
In 2020 the FCC fined T-Mobile $200 million after investigators determined its recently acquired Sprint subsidiary had overcharged Lifeline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
I didn’t like him suggesting Grandpa overcharged, but I let that go by.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
I believe this is a legitimate case of timeshare overcharging.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026
She said the incident highlights what’s wrong with the system: overpolicing and overcharging for an outdated service.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
In his report, Bowdery said £30m of that was overcharging and the company submitted bills "massively over the original estimates".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2025
The batteries become a risk when they enter thermal runaway, a state that can be triggered by overcharging, manufacturing errors or physical damage that can lead to fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2025
The prosecutor is also free to file more charges against a defendant than can realistically be proven in court, so long as probable cause arguably exists—a practice known as overcharging.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
