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
He says the mark-up is split between the club and brand, with the latter taking about 70%.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 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
The price to climb Mount Everest will soon increase for the first time in nearly a decade, as Nepal announces a sharp mark-up in permit fees.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2025
He had his five-frog margin and also he had the grocery mark-up.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week will mark up the five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 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
The express delivers its bullet accurately point-blank—the bullet flies straight to its mark up to a certain distance.
From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Jefferies, Richard
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.
