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

Enlarge Getty Images | Kirill Kudryavtsev Elon Musk's X Corp. is reportedly demanding money from at least six Australians who were laid off, saying the company accidentally overpaid them. —Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 12 June 2024

So overpaying, especially at this stage of the summer, doesn’t seem like a real option. —Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2024

The men allegedly overpaid contracts using a slush fund to conceal the bribes. —Luke Barr, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2024

In 20 percent of cases, D.C. overpaid or underpaid benefits to SNAP recipients, according to USDA data, placing it among the worst-performing states or territories nationwide. —Meagan Flynn, Washington Post, 2 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined above