ENGLISH
REFERENCE

surcharge

n. countable
C1 Advanced US //ˈsɝˌtʃɑɹdʒ// UK //sˈɜːtʃɑːdʒ// sur·charge Archaic Art Law
Definition

n. an extra amount of money that you must pay on top of the usual price. It is often added for special services or because of a price increase in things like fuel.

n. an additional charge, tax, or cost added to the base price of a good or service. Often applied as a temporary measure to offset specific cost fluctuations or to penalise certain payment methods.


SIMPLE

The airline added a fuel surcharge to the ticket price.

CONTEXTUAL

Many restaurants now include a small surcharge for customers who choose to pay with a credit card instead of cash.

COMPLEX

To mitigate the impact of rising energy costs, the shipping company implemented a variable surcharge that fluctuates according to the monthly global price of crude oil.

Origin

From Middle French surcharge, from Old French. By surface analysis, sur- + charge. Doublet of supercharge.

Usage

Commonly takes the preposition 'on' (a surcharge on imports) or 'for' (a surcharge for late payment).

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