as in extortion
the exaction of a grossly excessive charge for goods or services
what some rock superstars charge for concert tickets is simply highway robbery
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of highway robbery
Three games into his Colorado Rapids tenure, the club paying $125,000 in General Allocation Money — less than the going price of an international roster slot — is looking like highway robbery.
—
Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2025
This was a dangerous situation and was literally highway robbery.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2025
Hospitals have gotten away with this sort of highway robbery for years, thanks to a combination of consolidation and misleading arguments.
—Craig M. Wax, Boston Herald, 13 June 2025
To me, one meant highway robbery and the other meant equal pain, equal pleasure.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025
This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home.
—Maria Ramirez Uribe, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2025
The Nets‘ famous offseason trade with the Knicks — centered around Mikal Bridges — looks more like highway robbery each day.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
Jerry showed no sign of clocking their absence, though Bill wasn’t watching too closely—an act of moral highway robbery, maybe, but what was depredation if not an escape from the mundane?
—Hazlitt, 9 Dec. 2024
At the airport sushi counter, where prices are no more offensive than the highway robbery over rubbery personal pizzas and gigantic pretzels, a confident—and meager—crowd silently communes over their unassuming California rolls.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 June 2024
Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2025
This was a dangerous situation and was literally highway robbery.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2025
Hospitals have gotten away with this sort of highway robbery for years, thanks to a combination of consolidation and misleading arguments.
—Craig M. Wax, Boston Herald, 13 June 2025
To me, one meant highway robbery and the other meant equal pain, equal pleasure.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025
This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home.
—Maria Ramirez Uribe, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2025
The Nets‘ famous offseason trade with the Knicks — centered around Mikal Bridges — looks more like highway robbery each day.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
Jerry showed no sign of clocking their absence, though Bill wasn’t watching too closely—an act of moral highway robbery, maybe, but what was depredation if not an escape from the mundane?
—Hazlitt, 9 Dec. 2024
At the airport sushi counter, where prices are no more offensive than the highway robbery over rubbery personal pizzas and gigantic pretzels, a confident—and meager—crowd silently communes over their unassuming California rolls.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highway robbery
Noun
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Federal prosecutors allege Flores was part of the inner circle of TdA leadership operating in Bogota, Colombia, overseeing a network involved in cocaine trafficking, extortion, and prostitution.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
15 May 2026
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This four-part docuseries delves into how the case was made against over 300 people, with charges of murder, extortion, money laundering, and more.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Nah, my dreams of us are probably better anyway - cheating?—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
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And according to the data, most of this cheating is done with generative AI.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
13 May 2026
Noun
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What Raiff has seen is price-gouging at private airports and terminals.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
14 May 2026
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For its part, CF is clearly sensitive to the inevitable accusations of price-gouging.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Highway robbery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highway%20robbery. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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