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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gouge
Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
Golf’s bomb-and-gouge era, where power hitters eschewed the traditional fairways-and-greens approach and instead clobbered their tee shots as far as possible before hacking a wedge from the rough to set up birdie chances, may be over.
—Mike Dojc, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
Paul Jebara, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2025
That autumn, Newsom accused oil companies of price gouging California drivers and called a special legislative session to address the spikes.
—Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for gouge
Verb
All these gems are embedded in a wooden shell made of oak, sculpted with a gouge, just like the artisans who craft the cognac barrels.
—Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
Golf’s bomb-and-gouge era, where power hitters eschewed the traditional fairways-and-greens approach and instead clobbered their tee shots as far as possible before hacking a wedge from the rough to set up birdie chances, may be over.
—Mike Dojc, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
Insider tip: the Lake View rooms in the west wing—specifically floors three through five—deliver a prime panorama without gouging your wallet.
—Paul Jebara, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2025
That autumn, Newsom accused oil companies of price gouging California drivers and called a special legislative session to address the spikes.
—Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for gouge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gouge
Verb
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The bees became aggressive and stung the man multiple times.—
Laura Daniella Sepulveda,
AZCentral.com,
9 July 2025
-
Those walking through Aurillac, a quaint French community, were stung over a 30-minute period, with three people in critical condition evacuated to a hospital.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
8 July 2025
Noun
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Habitat degradation caused by feral sheep also likely played a role in its decline, reducing the availability of nesting sites in tree hollows and shrubland.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2025
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There was a leanness to the boy’s cheeks, with skeletal hollows visible beneath his collarbones, but his face and hands were clean and his cap appeared to be new.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
People.com,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In 2011, Boeing was found to have been grossly overcharging the Army for spare helicopter parts; a four-cent metal pin, for example, was billed at $71.01.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
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Last year, as reported by Grocery Dive, Albertsons agreed to a $3.9 million settlement following a civil complaint that claimed the retailer unlawfully overcharged customers.—
Emma Marsden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 June 2025
Noun
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This 89 percent-off indoor doormat has clever grooves to catch dirt and debris but is still soft underfoot, while this four-person outdoor dining set is made of rot- and mold-resistant acacia wood that will last for years.—
Shea Simmons,
Southern Living,
22 July 2025
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Astronomers predict that when this happens, these infant worlds sweep up material to build their own masses, creating intricate structures like rings and channels similar to the grooves in a record, and spirals resembling the spiral arms of the Milky Way.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
21 July 2025
Verb
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Business Technology News #5 – Here are 10 ways to use Grok 4 that feel like cheating: AI resources platform God of Prompt listed 10 creative ways to use Grok 4 – xAI’s large language model – on its X feed.—
Gene Marks,
Forbes.com,
20 July 2025
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What People Are Saying Byron's wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, removed her last name from her Facebook account and later deleted it following the cheating allegations, Page Six reported.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 July 2025
Noun
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Photos shared by the North Haven Fire Department show the truck and trailer on its side, with a large puncture on the top of the trailer.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
9 July 2025
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Hugh Shields described the man's injury as a puncture hole wound in the calf.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
30 June 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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By comparison, the new single-motor version, which costs 1.4 million lira, only comes with a 10% SCT surcharge that adds just 141,000 lira.—
Christiaan Hetzner,
Fortune,
8 July 2025
Noun
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In one of the documents, Moscow Police Department’s lead detective, Brett Payne, described walking through the crime scene and discovering the victims, each of whom had multiple stab wounds.—
Rebecca Boone,
Chicago Tribune,
23 July 2025
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Authorities found all four victims dead from stab wounds on Nov. 13, 2022, inside a home near the University of Idaho campus in Moscow.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
22 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gouge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gouge. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.
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