What does underprice mean?
Underprice means to sell something for less than its fair, standard, or competitive price. The word is especially common in business, retail, and publishing, where a seller may lower prices to attract customers or compete with other sellers. It can also describe pricing a product or service below what it is really worth, often as a strategic choice rather than a mistake. When people underprice their own labor, they accept less money than their work or expertise warrants. Underprice is related to undercut, which also involves charging less than competitors, but underprice more broadly covers pricing below an appropriate or standard rate. Its antonym, overprice, means to set a price above the fair or usual level. The word is formed from under-, meaning below, and price, and is used whenever a deliberately or unintentionally low price has significance.
verbTo sell or offer something at a lower price than the standard, fair, or competitive rate. It can also mean to value or offer something for less than it is worth.
- To sell or offer something at a lower price than the standard, fair, or competitive rate.
"The company underpriced its entry-level subscription to attract more customers."
"The retailer underpriced the device to gain a larger share of the market."
"After reviewing her rates, she realized she had been underpricing her work for years."
A price that looks too low can be a deliberate competitive weapon—or an expensive mistake.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does underprice come from?
Underprice was formed in English by combining the prefix under-, meaning below, with price, a word borrowed through Old French from Latin pretium, meaning price or value. The compound is recorded in early modern English. Price and prize come through Old French forms of Latin pretium, while appraise and precious also ultimately belong to the same Latin family of words concerned with value and worth.
Related word forms
How underprice is actually used
Underprice is usually transitive and is neutral in register, though it can suggest either a deliberate low-price strategy or a pricing error. When used reflexively, as in underprice yourself, it commonly means charging too little for your own work or services.
Easily confused with underprice
Underprice refers specifically to setting or offering a price that is too low, whereas undervalue can mean judging the worth or importance of something as less than it really is.