/ ˈpriːmiəm; NAmE / noun , adjective
■ noun
1.
an amount of money that you pay once or regularly for an insurance policy :
a monthly premium of £6.25
➡ note at payment
2.
an extra payment added to the basic rate :
You have to pay a high premium for express delivery.
A premium of 10% is paid out after 20 years.
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IDIOMS
- at a premium
- put / place / set a premium on sb/sth
■ adjective
[ only before noun ] very high (and higher than usual); of high quality :
premium prices / products
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 17th cent. (in the sense reward, prize ): from Latin praemium booty, reward, from prae before + emere buy, take.