a markup

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   An amount added to the cost of something to set its selling price.

   Grammar: Often used with 'of' or 'on': a markup of 30 percent; a markup on imported goods.

   Patterns

   • a markup of X percent
   • a markup on something

   The shop puts a 50 percent markup on all its clothes.

   There is a huge markup on bottled water at the airport.

   The dealer's markup on that car was more than two thousand dollars.

2. 2noununcountablecomputingtechnical

   Notes, symbols, or formatting added to a text to show how it should be printed or displayed.

   Grammar: No plural; use it for the system of tags or marks, not for a single added price.

   Patterns

   • add markup to something
   • use markup in something

   The editor added markup to the manuscript before sending it to the printer.

   HTML is a markup language used to build web pages.

   You can see the markup if you open the file in a plain text editor.

Word forms

Common combinations

a markup of 20 percent

The company applies a markup of 20 percent to all wholesale prices.

put a markup on something

They put a big markup on the wine in the restaurant.

price markup

The price markup covers shipping and storage.

markup language

XML is a markup language for storing data.

Synonyms and how they differ

margin

Margin is the difference between cost and selling price, often expressed as a percentage of the selling price, while markup is usually a percentage of the cost.

profit

Profit is the money left after all costs; markup is only the amount added to the cost before selling.

Word family

mark up phrasal verb

To add an amount to the price of something.

markdown noun

A reduction in price.

Commonly confused: a markup or markdown? a markup or mark?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “a markup”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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