markup

1 of 2

noun

mark·​up ˈmärk-ˌəp 

1

: an amount added to the cost price to determine the selling price

broadly : profit

2

: a U.S. Congressional committee session at which a bill is put into final form before it is reported out

mark up

2 of 2

verb

marked up; marking up; marks up

transitive verb

: to put a markup on

Examples of markup in a Sentence

Noun

The retail markup on their products is 25 percent.

selling used cars at high markups

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Dealer markup varies between online retailers, local coin shops and pawn shops, with many online dealers often offering better prices due to lower overhead. —Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026

Some services charge a markup, which can amount to an indirect fee despite the service claiming to be free or low-cost. —Jason Phillips, Kansas City Star, 6 Jan. 2026

Verb

That's lower than what traditional gold dealers charge, which can mark up gold between 1% and 10%, according to gold dealer JM Bullion. —Liz Knueven, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026

His optimism extended to the IPO market, where private equity portfolios, marked up during the boom years of 2020 and 2021, are finally preparing to exit as public markets improve. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 23 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1868, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing markup

• hypertext markup language
• markup language

Rhymes for markup

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• pickup

Kids Definition

markup

1 of 2 noun

mark·​up ˈmär-ˌkəp 

: an amount added to the cost price of an article to set the selling price

mark up

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)mär-ˈkəp

: to put a higher price on