I. sur ‧ charge 1 /ˈsɜːtʃɑːdʒ $ ˈsɜːrtʃɑːrdʒ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: surchargier , from sur- 'above' (from Latin super- ; ⇨ ↑ super- ) + chargier 'to charge' ]
money that you have to pay in addition to the basic price of something
surcharge on
a 10% surcharge on airline tickets
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THESAURUS
▪ tax money that you must pay to the government, especially from the money you earn, or as an additional payment when you buy something:
How much income tax do you pay each month?
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The Republicans promised to reduce taxes before the last election.
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Consumers are angry that the tax on petrol has gone up yet again.
▪ duty a tax you pay on something you buy:
The budget also sharply raised the duty on alcohol and tobacco.
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customs duty (=tax you pay on goods you buy and bring into the country)
▪ tariff a tax on goods coming into a country or going out of a country, especially to protect a country’s industry from cheap goods from other countries:
the import tariffs on hi-tech equipment
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The government’s tariff and trade policies came under fierce attack.
▪ levy an extra amount of money that you have to pay the government, usually as a tax, often in order to encourage people not to use or do something:
A new levy on fuel inefficient vehicles has been proposed.
▪ surcharge an amount of money that you have to pay in addition to the agreed or stated price of something:
British Airways will increase its fuel surcharge on all airline tickets from June 3.
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When you get cash at some machines, you have to pay an ATM surcharge.
II. surcharge 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
to make someone pay an additional amount of money