mark-up

A shopkeeper calculates the mark-up on a new shipment of notebooks.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • An increase in price: "mark-up" refers to the amount added to the cost price of an item to cover expenses and profit, typically expressed as a percentage or fixed sum.
   • A set of instructions for formatting: In publishing or computing, "mark-up" denotes annotations or codes added to a document to indicate how text should be displayed or structured (e.g., HTML or XML).

Usage Examples

• Noun (price increase):

  • The store applied a 20% mark-up on all imported goods. (The store increased the original price by 20% to cover costs and profit.)
  • A high mark-up on luxury items often reflects brand value. (The additional amount added to the cost is significant for expensive products.)

• Noun (formatting instructions):

  • The editor added mark-up to the manuscript for the printer. (The editor inserted symbols or codes to indicate formatting changes.)
  • HTML is a common mark-up language used for web pages. (HTML uses tags as mark-up to structure content online.)

Advanced Usage

• "to have a mark-up": to include a profit margin in pricing.

  • The wholesale price is low, but the retailer’s mark-up makes it expensive. (The retailer adds extra money to the cost to earn profit.)

• "mark-up rate": the percentage or ratio of the mark-up to the cost price.

  • A 50% mark-up rate is standard in this industry. (The added amount is half of the original cost.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mark up (verb phrase): to add a price increase or to annotate with formatting instructions.

  • The company decided to mark up its products by 10%. (They increased the price.)
  • Please mark up the document with corrections. (Add notes or codes for changes.)

• Markup (alternative spelling): often used interchangeably with "mark-up" in computing contexts.

  • The XML markup defines the data structure. (The codes organize the information.)

Synonyms

• Price increase: a rise in the selling price.
• Margin: the difference between cost and selling price.
• Annotation: a note or comment added to a text (for formatting sense).

Phrasal Verbs

• Mark up: to increase the price of something.

  • Suppliers often mark up raw materials during shortages. (They raise the cost when demand is high.)

• Mark down: the opposite of mark-up; to reduce the price.

  • The store marked down the winter coats after the season ended. (They lowered the price for clearance.)

Related Idioms

• "Mark-up and mark-down": a pair of terms used in retail to describe price adjustments.

  • The cycle of mark-up and mark-down affects customer buying habits. (Price increases and decreases influence sales.)

• "Cost-plus mark-up": a pricing strategy where a fixed percentage is added to the production cost.

  • The contractor used a cost-plus mark-up to ensure profit. (The price was based on actual costs plus a predetermined extra amount.)