outprice

IPA/ˌaʊtˈpraɪs/
IPA/ˌaʊtˈpraɪs/

outprice — verb

  • outpricepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • outprices3rd person singular
  • outpricing-ing form
  • outpricedpast simple

1. to charge less for what you sell than a rival charges, so that buyers choose you

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to charge less for what you sell than a rival charges, so that buyers choose you instead

Example

The new bakery on Élise Street easily outpriced the old shop with its cheaper bread.

outprice + rival shop

Online stores often outprice small bookshops because they buy stock in huge amounts.

reason clause explains how the underpricing happens

Common collocations
  • outprice competitors
  • outprice rivals
Synonyms
  • undercut

    more common; specifically means charging less than a rival

  • underprice

    can mean price too low overall, not only beating a rival

Grammar Patterns

outprice + competitor/rival

Usage Note

Object is usually a competitor or seller, not a product. Distinguish from sense 2, where the object is a buyer who is pushed out by a high price.

Common Mistakes

The shop outpriced its bread to win customers.
The shop outpriced its rivals to win customers.
in this sense the object is the competitor you beat, not the goods you sell.

2. to set a price so high that a person can no longer afford to buy something they

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to set a price so high that a person can no longer afford to buy something they want

Example

Rising rents have outpriced many young teachers in Devika's home town.

outprice + buyer pushed out of a market

The new luxury flats outpriced almost every local family along the river.

Common collocations
  • be outpriced
  • outpriced out of the market
Synonyms
  • price out

    the everyday phrasal-verb equivalent; usually 'price someone out of'

Grammar Patterns

be outpriced (out of [market])

Usage Note

Frequently passive ('be outpriced'). The thing made too expensive is usually housing, tickets, or services that ordinary people need. Distinguish from sense 1, where you beat a rival by charging less.

Common Mistakes

The high rent outpriced the apartment.
The high rent outpriced young workers from the area.
the object is the person who can no longer afford it, not the item itself.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All three verbs involve charging a low price, but they differ in focus. 'Undercut' is the most common in business English and means deliberately charging less than a rival so that customers come to you; the rival is always in view. 'Outprice' (sense 1) is close to 'undercut' but is rarer and stresses the result of winning the price battle. 'Underprice' is different: it can simply mean setting a price too low, often by mistake, with no rival in mind — a shop can underprice its own goods and lose money. So you 'undercut' or 'outprice' a competitor, but you 'underprice' an item. For example, a startup might undercut larger firms to enter the market, then realise it has underpriced its software and cannot cover costs.

outprice ↗undercut ↗underprice ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • outprice competitors
  • outprice rivals

Phrases

  • be outpriced

Prepositions

  • outprice (someone) out of
  • outprice on (an item)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

A modern English compound formed from the prefix 'out-', meaning 'to do better than or beyond', joined to the noun and verb 'price'. The same pattern gives us 'outsell', 'outrun', and 'outbid', where 'out-' marks beating someone at an action. 'Price' itself came into English through Old French from the Latin word 'pretium', meaning value or reward. The two senses pull in opposite directions: one beats a rival with a lower price, the other shuts a buyer out with a higher one.

First known use

1612

1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1