as in stung
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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Recent Examples of gouged
Nobody likes being price gouged, whether at the gas pump, ticket purchase, or a rideshare.
—
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Then thunder crashes and a hand with an open wound gets gouged open.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
In a development as predictable as the Yankees overpaying for talent, viewers grew increasingly weary of getting gouged like that and responded with a wave of cord-cutting that has now ensured that OPM is no longer a viable option for RSNs.
—Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 11 Mar. 2026
The department was able to give back about $103,891 in restitution to the tenant who was gouged, Carbajal said.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 25 Feb. 2026
Scheffler pushed his drive into the right fairway bunker on the par-4, could only advance the ball 54 yards into the left rough and gouged his third shot short of the green.
—John Marshall, Baltimore Sun, 5 Feb. 2026
After getting gouged repeatedly by bootleg play-action passes, screens and space plays over their first two series, the Pats struck back with a short-yardage stop and forced fumble on the next two series.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
At Dia, the cage has been reconstructed in full, complete with Hsieh’s boots and his tally marks gouged into the wall.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2025
Successive hurricanes had gouged a hole in the Sunshine State, leaving several private carriers insolvent — and leaving hundreds of thousands of their customers with no choice but Citizens.
—Mario Ariza, ProPublica, 15 Sep. 2025
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Then thunder crashes and a hand with an open wound gets gouged open.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
In a development as predictable as the Yankees overpaying for talent, viewers grew increasingly weary of getting gouged like that and responded with a wave of cord-cutting that has now ensured that OPM is no longer a viable option for RSNs.
—Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 11 Mar. 2026
The department was able to give back about $103,891 in restitution to the tenant who was gouged, Carbajal said.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 25 Feb. 2026
Scheffler pushed his drive into the right fairway bunker on the par-4, could only advance the ball 54 yards into the left rough and gouged his third shot short of the green.
—John Marshall, Baltimore Sun, 5 Feb. 2026
After getting gouged repeatedly by bootleg play-action passes, screens and space plays over their first two series, the Pats struck back with a short-yardage stop and forced fumble on the next two series.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
At Dia, the cage has been reconstructed in full, complete with Hsieh’s boots and his tally marks gouged into the wall.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2025
Successive hurricanes had gouged a hole in the Sunshine State, leaving several private carriers insolvent — and leaving hundreds of thousands of their customers with no choice but Citizens.
—Mario Ariza, ProPublica, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gouged
Verb
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Now owned by the National Gallery in London, the painting, showing Roman god Cupid complaining to his mother Venus about being stung by bees, can be seen in the center of a blurry, black-and-white photograph dating to the 1940s that was published in a 1978 furniture catalog.—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
11 May 2026
-
Teng stung in fourth The Astros deployed Kai-Wei Teng as an opener for the second time this season.—
Matt Kawahara,
Houston Chronicle,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Even at Princeton, obviously, some students have always cheated.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
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To the curry-sphere and beyond Iyer cheated a touch with the book’s title because some chapters exist outside of the sauce world.—
Scott Hocker,
TheWeek,
11 May 2026
Verb
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The jury found that fans were overcharged for tickets as a direct result of this monopoly, paying higher fees for their tickets.—
Letitia James,
Rolling Stone,
21 Apr. 2026
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On Wednesday, a New York federal jury found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally operated as a monopoly and overcharged fans.—
Alli Rosenbloom,
CNN Money,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Domestic flights will also get surcharged.—
Medora Lee,
USA Today,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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After the chamber cleared, House clerks pulled them apart, stomped on them and eventually soaked them in water until the noises gradually died.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
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Returning with a search warrant, detectives found blood residue leading from the kitchen to Abugharbieh's bedroom, and more blood that soaked his bedroom carpet.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gouged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gouged. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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