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

Reader is the kind of free agent who may be weighing his options between a contending team and a team like the Giants who might have to overpay to lure him to the Big Apple. —Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026

This was the call the Wizards made in making deals for Trae Young and Anthony Davis before the trade deadline, rather than overpay for middling free agent talent this summer. —David Aldridge, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026

The worst ones either got too cute, overpaid for replaceable positions or left obvious holes untouched. —Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026

Some districts were overpaid or underpaid last year, a problem that wasn’t apparent to county officials until the Tribune asked about it. —A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overpay

• aaa
• adonais
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway