sticker shock
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of sticker shock
sticker ( price ) + shock
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.
Sticker shock is part of the nuclear tradition.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
Sticker shock is hitting car buyers as the U.S. broadly faces what many consider to be a growing affordability crisis.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025
Sticker shock: Resale websites StubHub, SeatGeek and VividSeats report that secondhand tickets to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway hit “Hamilton” are selling for $467 to $510 a ticket, on average.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 21, 2017
Sticker shock: Brent grew up in Chevy Chase.
From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2016
Sticker shock keeps getting worse for some sports fans.
From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2011
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.
