SINCE 1828
sticker shock
nounDefinition of sticker shock
: astonishment and dismay experienced on being informed of a product's unexpectedly high price
Examples of sticker shock in a Sentence
We left the store suffering severe sticker shock.
Recent Examples on the Web
Global smartphone sales have fallen over the past year, reflecting sticker shock over new phone prices and a lack of show-stopping features to persuade consumers to upgrade. — Yoko Kubota, WSJ, "Apple Loses Ground to China’s Homegrown Rivals," 3 Jan. 2019 These self-install kits get you a custom-quality van without the sticker shock. — Megan Barber, Curbed, "Why I love having a microwave in my camper van," 20 Dec. 2018 Variations of this gilt pleasure teem in vintage stores like The Apartment, and for less sticker shock, CB2 gives us a modern iteration of the famous fixture. — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, "Is This the Original SAD Lamp? The Best Tropical Light Fixtures to Ward Off Seasonal Blues," 12 Oct. 2018 Beer is already expensive in Australia and Japan, for instance, so beer drinkers there wouldn't feel the brunt of the sticker shock quite so much as other regions, like Belgium, Germany, or the Czech Republic. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Barley shortages from climate change could mean less beer worldwide," 15 Oct. 2018 Competitive startup clinics like Extend Fertility, Ova, and Kindbody are tackling the sticker shock, shaving off a not-negligible few grand. — Laura Regensdorf, Vogue, "At 35, I Went to a Millennial Egg-Freezing Clinic—and Now I’m Rethinking My Future," 12 Nov. 2018 Student loan debt is a ball and chain for many borrowers, who experience sticker shock when the bills begin to arrive. — Elizabeth Llorente, Fox News, "Students, families struggle to repay billions in crushing loan debts," 6 Sep. 2018 Brace yourself for some sticker shock: This placeis asking $1.5 million. — Taylor Murphy, House Beautiful, "This Is Not Your Average Mobile Home," 8 Sep. 2015 But for food-loving travelers who love to eat out, there’s the inevitable sticker shock. — Mary Winston Nicklin, USA TODAY, "10 tastes of Paris for less than $10," 18 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sticker shock.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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