Meaning & use
gazump
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitiveBritishinformal
To accept a higher offer for a property from a new buyer after you have already agreed to sell it to someone else.
Grammar: Takes an object, the first buyer: the seller gazumped them; often used in the passive: we were gazumped.
Patterns
- gazump someone
- be gazumped by someone
The sellers gazumped us two days before we were due to sign.
They were gazumped when a cash buyer offered ten thousand more.
Nobody wants to be gazumped after paying for a survey.
verbtransitiveBritishinformalfigurative
To raise a price after agreeing it, or to take something promised, by offering more than the earlier person.
Grammar: A looser, figurative use that takes an object: the dealer gazumped the first customer.
Patterns
- gazump someone
The dealer gazumped me on the car by selling it to someone else.
She felt gazumped when the venue gave her date to a wedding party.
The supplier tried to gazump us by doubling the agreed price.
Word forms
| third person singular | gazumps |
|---|---|
| past tense | gazumped |
| past participle | gazumped |
| -ing form | gazumping |
Common combinations
- get gazumped
- We got gazumped after months of searching.
- risk being gazumped
- Buyers risk being gazumped in a hot market.
- be gazumped at the last minute
- They were gazumped at the last minute by a developer.
- accused of gazumping
- The agent was accused of gazumping a young couple.
Synonyms and how they differ
- outbid
- Outbid simply means to offer more than another buyer, whereas gazump implies that a deal was already agreed and the seller broke it.
- double-cross
- Double-cross means to betray someone in any dealing, while gazump is limited to a seller turning down an agreed sale for more money.
- hijack
- Hijack suggests seizing something by force or trickery and is used more widely, while gazump is a property-market term.
Word family
- gazumper noun
- a seller who gazumps
- gazumping noun
- the practice of raising a price after agreement
- gazunder verb
- to lower an agreed offer just before a sale is completed
Commonly confused: gazump or gazunder?
gazump vs gazunder
Gazunder is done by the buyer, who cuts the agreed price at the last minute, while gazump is done by the seller who takes a higher offer.
Practice
The couple had agreed to buy the house, but the owner sold it to someone offering more. What happened?
Choose one answer.
Being gazumped means losing a property you had already agreed to buy because the seller accepted a higher offer. The other words describe different events.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gazump”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.