overcharge

/oʊvərˈtʃɑrdʒ/

/əʊvəˈtʃɑdʒ/

Other forms: overcharged; overcharging; overcharges

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.

Definitions of overcharge

1. verb

   rip off; ask an unreasonable price
   synonyms: fleece, gazump, hook, pluck, plume, rob, soak, surcharge

   antonyms:

   undercharge

   charge (someone) too little money

   types:

   extort, gouge, rack, squeeze, wring

   obtain by coercion or intimidation

   bleed

   get or extort (money or other possessions) from someone

   type of:

   cheat, chisel, rip off

   deprive somebody of something by deceit
2. noun

   a price that is too high
   types:

   extortion

   an exorbitant charge

   type of:

   charge

   the price charged for some article or service
3. verb

   place too much a load on
   synonyms: overload, surcharge

   type of:

   lade, laden, load, load up

   fill or place a load on