What does "surcharge" mean?
An addition of extra charge on the agreed, stated, or baseline price.
Surcharge
/ˈsɜː(ɹ)t͡ʃɑː(ɹ)d͡ʒ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An addition of extra charge on the agreed, stated, or baseline price.
- Grammar: surcharge is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: added fee, assess, bale, bleed.
- Useful contrasts: exempt, exemption, rebate.
- Usage evidence: This train has a surcharge of three euros.
How to use "surcharge"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "surcharge" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "surcharge" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "surcharge" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "surcharge" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "surcharge" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "added fee" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "surcharge", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An addition of extra charge on the agreed, stated, or baseline price.
"Our airline tickets cost twenty dollars more than we expected because we had to pay a fuel surcharge."
- 2 an additional charge (as for items previously omitted or as a penalty for failure to exercise common caution or common skill) wordnet
- 3 The part of the price of a subsidized good or service that is not covered by the subsidy and so must be paid by the consumer.
- 4 An excessive price charged e.g. to an unsuspecting customer.
- 5 An overprint on a stamp that alters (usually raises) the original nominal value of the stamp; used especially in times of hyperinflation.
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A painting in lighter enamel over a darker one that serves as the ground.
- 7 A charge that has been omitted from an account as payment of a credit to the charged party
- 8 A penalty for failure to exercise common prudence and skill in the performance of a fiduciary's duties.
- 9 An excessive load or burden. obsolete
"A Numerous Nobility, cauſet Pouerty, and Inconuenience in a State: For it is a Surcharge of Expence;"
- 10 The putting, by a commoner, of more animals on the common than he is entitled to. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To apply a surcharge.
- 2 show an omission in (an account) for which credit ought to have been given wordnet
- 3 To overload; to overburden.
"to surcharge an animal or a ship; to surcharge a cannon"
- 4 place too much a load on wordnet
- 5 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.
"Another diſturbance of common is by ſurcharging it; or putting more cattle therein than the paſture and herbage will ſuſtain, or the party hath a right to do."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 fill to an excessive degree wordnet
- 7 To show an omission in (an account) for which credit ought to have been given.
"The Idle multitude surcharge their laies"
- 8 print a new denomination on a stamp or a banknote wordnet
- 9 fill to capacity with people wordnet
- 10 rip off; ask an unreasonable price wordnet
- 11 charge an extra fee, as for a special service wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"This train has a surcharge of three euros."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "surcharge"?
Common synonyms include: added fee, assess, bale, bleed, bleed white, burden.
How do you use "surcharge" in a sentence?
This train has a surcharge of three euros.
How do you pronounce "surcharge"?
Pronounced /ˈsɜː(ɹ)t͡ʃɑː(ɹ)d͡ʒ/.
Etymology
From Middle French surcharge, from Old French. By surface analysis, sur- + charge. Doublet of supercharge.