as in extortion
the exaction of a grossly excessive charge for goods or services
what some rock superstars charge for concert tickets is simply highway robbery
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of highway robbery
Three games into his Colorado Rapids tenure, the club paying $125,000 in General Allocation Money — less than the going price of an international roster slot — is looking like highway robbery.
—
Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2025
This was a dangerous situation and was literally highway robbery.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2025
Hospitals have gotten away with this sort of highway robbery for years, thanks to a combination of consolidation and misleading arguments.
—Craig M. Wax, Boston Herald, 13 June 2025
To me, one meant highway robbery and the other meant equal pain, equal pleasure.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025
This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home.
—Maria Ramirez Uribe, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2025
The Nets‘ famous offseason trade with the Knicks — centered around Mikal Bridges — looks more like highway robbery each day.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
Jerry showed no sign of clocking their absence, though Bill wasn’t watching too closely—an act of moral highway robbery, maybe, but what was depredation if not an escape from the mundane?
—Hazlitt, 9 Dec. 2024
Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2025
This was a dangerous situation and was literally highway robbery.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2025
Hospitals have gotten away with this sort of highway robbery for years, thanks to a combination of consolidation and misleading arguments.
—Craig M. Wax, Boston Herald, 13 June 2025
To me, one meant highway robbery and the other meant equal pain, equal pleasure.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025
This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home.
—Maria Ramirez Uribe, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2025
The Nets‘ famous offseason trade with the Knicks — centered around Mikal Bridges — looks more like highway robbery each day.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
Jerry showed no sign of clocking their absence, though Bill wasn’t watching too closely—an act of moral highway robbery, maybe, but what was depredation if not an escape from the mundane?
—Hazlitt, 9 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highway robbery
Noun
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The group also reportedly released an extortion note on a data leaks site earlier this month.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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Tompkins, 67, of Boston, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of extortion under color of official right.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Both had a bad drinking habit by then, and when Martha confronted Willie about his cheating, a fight broke out.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Oct. 2025
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In addition to delivering high-quality search results, this method hinders search-engine cheating; artificially boosting your web page by putting up a thousand pages linking to it won’t accomplish much if those pages have low status.—
Jack Murtagh,
Scientific American,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The only tactics barred were eye gouging, groin strikes, and biting, none of which was especially policed.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
11 Oct. 2025
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Even if what Weyland-Yutani has is blood-sucking, eye-gouging, and chest-bursting alien monsters.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Highway robbery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highway%20robbery. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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