extortionateex‧tor‧tion‧ate /ɪkˈstɔːʃənət $ -ɔːr-/ adjective 
Examples
Many local taxi drivers charge extortionate rates.—extortionately adverb
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- an extortionate price for car insurance
- It also allows people access to loans without resorting to the extortionate rates charged by some legitimate credit companies.
- On top of this, they often charge extortionate rates for support through a tolled number.
- Paying £40 for it is nothing less than extortionate.
- The building trades are also riddled with extortionate practices, but here the influence of the Mafia is probably exaggerated.
- The penalties are even more extortionate for those who had not planned to go into the red.
- The same fear sustains extortionate bills in some other businesses.
Longman Language Activatorwhen something is too expensive► can't afford
Collocations if you can't afford something, you do not have enough money to buy it or pay for it: · I really need a new coat, but I can't afford one.can't afford to do something: · We couldn't afford to go on holiday last year.can't afford it: · Hiring a lawyer would be expensive, and she just couldn't afford it.
► exorbitant/extortionate prices, charges, rents etc that are exorbitant or extortionate , are very much higher than they should be, and you think they are unfair: · The restaurant charges exorbitant prices for very ordinary food.· Interest rates for some of the credit cards are extortionate.
► be a rip-off spoken informal you say something is a rip-off when you think someone is unfairly charging too much money for it: · Eighty dollars for a pair of jeans? What a rip-off!a complete/total rip-off: · The vacation package we bought ended up being a total rip-off.
► prohibitive/prohibitively expensive prices or costs that are prohibitive or prohibitively expensive are so high that people cannot pay them or decide not to pay them because they are too expensive: · For most people, the cost of living in the centre of town is prohibitive.· The computer was superior to other models, but it was prohibitively expensive.
► inflated prices prices that are much higher than usual and much higher than they should be, so that the person who charges them can make a big profit: · Nightclubs often charge inflated prices for drinks.at inflated prices: · Some people buy large blocks of tickets and then try to sell them at vastly inflated prices.
► steep informal prices, charges, rents etc that are steep seem unusually or surprisingly high: · I think £7 for a drink is a bit steep, don't you?· It's hard to find an apartment around here, and when you do the rents are pretty steep.
► be daylight robbery British /be highway robbery American informal if you say that a price or charge is daylight robbery or highway robbery you mean it is very much higher than it should be: · I'm not paying £5 for an ice-cream - that's daylight robbery!· We knew it was highway robbery, but we had no choice but to pay.
► price something out of the market to make something so expensive that people will no longer buy it because they can buy something similar at a lower price: be priced out of the market: · British electrical equipment is likely to be priced out of the market by cheap imports.price yourself out of the market: · Ford don't want to raise its prices any more - it's worried about pricing itself out of the market.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► exorbitant/extortionate price
an extortionate price, demand etc is unreasonably high SYN exorbitant: (=much too high)· £10,000 seemed an exorbitant price for the rug.
Many local taxi drivers charge extortionate rates.—extortionately adverb