price gouging

[prahys gou-jing]

noun

1. an act or instance of charging customers too high a price for goods or services, especially when demand is high and supplies are limited.

   The law prohibits price gouging during weather emergencies such as snowstorms.

Other Word Forms

• price gouge verb (used with or without object)
• price-gouge verb (used with or without object)
• price gouger noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of price gouging¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

In January, Airbnb released a statement denouncing price gouging and promising to make it impossible for hosts to raise the prices of their properties by more than 10% from their pre-wildfire rates.

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The union’s founder, John Schwarz, explained in an Instagram post that the union is demanding “fair taxes, an end to price gouging, real equality, and corporate accountability.”

Read more on Salon

Eyewitnesses said Israeli drones fired at members of a Hamas police force, dressed in civilian clothing and wearing masks, who were confronting vendors they accused of price gouging and selling goods looted from aid trucks.

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“Profiting off Californians’ pain through price gouging is illegal and I will not stand for it,” Bonta said in a news release.

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If passed into law, the measures would protect homeowners from price gouging after disasters, streamline the process for filing claims for lost property and offer financial protections for disaster victims.

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