surcharge

[ˈsɜː(ɹ)t͡ʃɑː(ɹ)d͡ʒ]

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surcharges - surcharge

A surcharge is an extra cost or fee added to a bill or price. It's like a hidden additional charge that might catch you off guard.

When shopping online or at the store, you might see a "free shipping" deal that sounds great, but then they surprise you with a surcharge for handling or packaging. Sometimes airlines will add a surcharge if you book your ticket last minute or change your flight plans. In these cases, the original price didn't include the extra fee, and it's added later as a surcharge. If someone says that their phone bill has a surcharge for data usage, they mean there's an additional charge for using more than the expected amount of internet on their phone.

How common is "surcharge"?

Word surcharge is considered rare in modern English.
It appears most frequently in newspaper texts and less often in other writings.

Definitions

noun

An addition of extra charge on the agreed or stated price.
Example: Our airline tickets cost twenty dollars more than we expected because we had to pay a fuel surcharge.
An excessive price charged e.g. to an unsuspecting customer.
An overprint on a stamp that alters (usually raises) the original nominal value of the stamp; used especially in times of hyperinflation.
A painting in lighter enamel over a darker one that serves as the ground.
A charge that has been omitted from an account as payment of a credit to the charged party.
A penalty for failure to exercise common prudence and skill in the performance of a fiduciary's duties.
An excessive load or burden.
The putting, by a commoner, of more animals on the common than he is entitled to.

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verb

To apply a surcharge.
To overload; to overburden.
Example: to surcharge an animal or a ship; to surcharge a cannon
To overstock; especially, to put more cattle into (e.g. a common) than one has a right to do, or more than the herbage will sustain.
To show an omission in (an account) for which credit ought to have been given.

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discount

Real examples of "surcharges" in context

Why Are Beach Holes So Deadly?

Entertainment

surcharges. And no doubt, surcharge loads have contributed to at least a few of these dangerous

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