Phrase guide

highway robbery

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of robbing a traveler on a public road.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, historical, uncountable

Qualifier: literal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: high pad, padding

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Excessive or exorbitant prices.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, uncountable, usually

Examples

  • They think they can charge $400 for a shirt? That's highway robbery.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: daylight robbery, price gouging

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

robbery of travellers on or near a public road

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: robbery

4

noun

Meaning 4

an exorbitant price

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • what they are asking for gas these days is highway robbery

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: price, terms, damage

History

Etymology

Compare Old English weġrēaf (“highway robbery”, literally “road-theft”).

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 攔路搶劫 /拦路抢劫 (lánlù qiǎngjié) — act of robbing on a public road
  • Chinese Mandarin: 路劫 (lùjié) — act of robbing on a public road
  • Chinese Mandarin: 劫道 (jiédào) — act of robbing on a public road
  • Finnish: maantierosvous — act of robbing on a public road
  • French: vol de grand chemin — act of robbing on a public road
  • German: Straßenraub — act of robbing on a public road
  • German: Wegelagerei — act of robbing on a public road
  • German: Straßenräuberei — act of robbing on a public road
  • Korean: 노상강도 (nosanggangdo) — act of robbing on a public road
  • Old English: weġrēaf — act of robbing on a public road
  • Polish: rozbój na prostej drodze — act of robbing on a public road
  • Polish: rozbój na równej drodze — act of robbing on a public road
  • Romanian: tâlhărie la drumul mare — act of robbing on a public road
  • Romanian: hoție la drumul mare — act of robbing on a public road
  • Russian: грабёж среди́ бела́ дня (grabjóž sredí belá dnja) — act of robbing on a public road
  • Tamil: வழிப்பறி (vaḻippaṟi) — act of robbing on a public road