jack up
phr. v..phr. v.. to suddenly increase the price or amount of something by a lot. You might use this when a shop or company makes things much more expensive.
phr. v.. to increase a price, rate, or amount significantly and often abruptly; frequently carries a negative connotation of unfairness or opportunism.
The landlord decided to jack up the rent by twenty percent.
Gas stations often jack up their prices right before a long holiday weekend when they know people need to travel.
Speculators were accused of trying to jack up the value of the stock through aggressive and misleading marketing campaigns.
usually takes a noun phrase like 'prices', 'rent', or 'rates' as a direct object.
contrast with 'raise' or 'increase' to show how 'jack up' implies a sudden, steep, or unwelcome change; it can also literally mean to lift a car with a tool.
They jacked up of the prices.They jacked up the prices.the verb is transitive and takes a direct object without the preposition 'of'.