Etymology From Middle English overchargen, equivalent to over- + charge.
1
Ambitransitive To charge (somebody) more money than the correct amount or to surpass a certain limit while charging a bill.
Meanwhile, the tolls dispute had gone to the courts, and the E.L.R. was completely successful when, in 1856, the House of Lords awarded it the sum of £30,000 against the L.Y.R. for tolls overcharged.1957 October 23, M. D. Greville and G. O. Holt, “Railway Development in Manchester—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 726:
2
To continue to charge (an electrical device) beyond its capacity.
Sometimes I get overcharged / That's when you see sparks1997, “The Tourist”, in OK Computer, performed by Radiohead:
3
To charge (someone) with an inflated number or degree of legal charges (for example, charging them with a more serious crime than was committed); to upcharge.
The police, fully aware of the reality of plea bargaining, often overcharge (if they don't, then the prosecutor does). The police also may overcharge in order to develop informants.2015, Randall G. Shelden, William B. Brown, Karen S. Miller, Randal B. Fritzler, Crime and Criminal Justice in American Society: Second Edition, Waveland Press, →ISBN, page 184:
Shadow vigilantism can also be seen in the conduct of officials within the system who feel morally justified in subverting the system because they see it as regularly and indifferently producing failures of justice.[…] It’s also apparent in police “testilying” to subvert search and seizure technicalities (and judicial toleration of it) and in prosecutorial overcharging to compensate for past perceived justice failures.2018, Paul H. Robinson, Sarah Robinson, Shadow Vigilantes: How Distrust in the Justice System Breeds a New Kind of Lawlessness: Section III. The Subversions and Perversions of Shadow Vigilantism:
1 more example
"It's about decades of an office that overcharges and oversentences but keeps getting worse results," Conklin says.2022 July 21, Daniel Walters, “Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell finds himself under attack from three fronts”, in The Inlander, archived from the original on 21 Dec 2025:
4
Dated To charge or load too heavily; to burden; to oppress.
it serves to no better use but only to labour and overcharge the ships' sides in any grown seas and foul weather.c. 1611, Walter Raleigh, Observations on the Navy and Sea Service:
October 22, 1706, Alexander Pope, letter to Mr. Walsh Our language is naturally overcharged with consonants.
The result is that the veins become overcharged with blood, and we are taught by physiology that wherever there is overcharge of the venous circulation there results supernutrition, and primarily from that there develops new connective tissue.1889, Paul F. Munde/, The American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children; volume 22 issue 1, page 516:
Etymology From Middle English overchargen, equivalent to over- + charge.
1
An excessive load or burden.
2
An excessive charge in an account.
3
Any amount erroneously charged to a customer above the correct price for a product or service.
I just left out a couple of things. Rust-proofing, transport charge, storage surcharge, additional overcharge, finder's fee, […] floor mats, keys […]1998 January 8, The Dealership (Seinfeld), season 9, episode 11, spoken by Puddy: