as in to sting
to charge (someone) too much for goods or services
since I had forgotten the sunscreen, I was forced to buy it from the concession stand at the beach—where they gouged me for it
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Recent Examples of gouge
Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2025
Maybe they will be forced to stay on their planet and watch helplessly as the Empire gouge mines and eventually destroys everything.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 7 May 2025
Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
The greedy people will get theirs when people get fed up with being gouged at every turn.
—Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gouge
Verb
The racing line next to the Turn 2 exit was left with a noticeable gouge.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2025
Maybe they will be forced to stay on their planet and watch helplessly as the Empire gouge mines and eventually destroys everything.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 7 May 2025
Noun
But a low spot in the ocean, a channel gouged down into the sand on the ocean surface, or a break in a sandbar, can disrupt that flow and push water through the spot to create a current much more powerful than the surrounding flow.
—Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
The greedy people will get theirs when people get fed up with being gouged at every turn.
—Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gouge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gouge
Verb
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This interaction damages skin cells and can trigger irritation, redness, stinging or burning.—
Leslie Baumann,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
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Sherry recalls one instance that stung in particular, when a friend pointed out his hair loss at a social gathering.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Detractors wondered if the unending positivity was beneficial in the locker room, if the optimism was starting to ring hollow.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
4 Sep. 2025
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Critics argue that Thiel’s warnings about the Antichrist ring hollow given his role in building the very surveillance infrastructure that could enable authoritarian control.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The owners are accused of overcharging in categories such as crematory fees, refrigeration fees, sales tax and several others.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Flat-rate pricing leads to value misalignment, high-usage customers feel undercharged, and low-usage customers feel overcharged.—
Chris Kent,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Another long-leaf cactus, the Spanish bayonet, was diabolically equipped with a blood groove.—
Tim Kelly,
Outdoor Life,
4 Sep. 2025
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Beck struck again in the fifth and final drive of the first half, finding his groove with six completions in six attempts.—
Susan Miller Degnan,
Miami Herald,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In June 2009, Kate filed for divorce following cheating allegations surrounding Jon.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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Park Min-young played a timid wife seeking revenge on her cheating man in Marry My Husband.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The new generation of Volvo Dynamic Steering is designed to detect a front tire puncture and, in a split second, automatically mitigate the impact by assisting the driver to keep the truck on a steady course.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Sep. 2025
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With the offending hook now removed, the bleeding quickly subsided, and aside from a couple of small puncture wounds (and a crankbait in need of new hooks), the damage was minimal.—
Brad Dokken,
Twin Cities,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But last month, SpaceX raised the demand surcharge to $500, then $750 before finally escalating it to an eye-popping $1,000.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
21 July 2025
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That surcharge alone erodes a meaningful slice of Qatar’s margin advantage over Henry-Hub-linked U.S. cargoes and is already pencilled into 2026 LNG tender models.—
Güney Yıldız,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
Noun
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All had suffered multiple stab wounds.—
Tresa Baldas,
Freep.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Flock’s first stab at that mission will be in customers’ hands come August.—
Thomas Brewster,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gouge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gouge. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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