overpay

verb

over·​pay ˌō-vər-ˈpā 

overpaid ˌō-vər-ˈpād  ; overpaying

transitive + intransitive

: to pay too much to someone or for something

… the debate over whether organic foods are a smart choice for healthier living or a marketing tool that gulls people into overpaying.

—Kenneth Chang

It took my husband and me an hour with a representative to figure out we were overpaying for insurance and unlimited data plans.

—Tanisha A. Sykes

Be careful not to overpay state taxes.

—Carl T. Hall

We are not overpaying people; we are paying people what the market demands.

—Renee Glover

overpaid adjective

… fuels the negative stereotype of the overpaid underworked bureaucrat.

—Joann S. Lublin

Examples of overpay in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That rate has now been ratcheted up to 100%, meaning those overpaid after March 27 will automatically be placed in full recovery and will receive no checks until the balance is resolved. —Mike Snider, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2025

The Patriots made a bunch of significant additions, which all add up to a great offseason, even if some of the players seemed overpaid. —Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025

The hard truth is that without rethinking business models, IT architecture and AI integration at scale, enterprises will continue to overpay for AI without seeing measurable results. —Jabin Geevarghese George, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025

This will explain how much they were overpaid, options for repayment and rights to appeal. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overpay

• aaa
• adonais
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway