high bill

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "high bill" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it when referring to a bill that has a large amount due, such as a utility bill or a restaurant bill. For example, "After the vacation, we were shocked to receive a high bill for our hotel stay." Alternative expressions include "large bill" and "expensive bill."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

22 human-written examples

When that news first leaked, its shares plunged to 31-year lows over fears about its ability to withstand such a high bill.

The Guardian - Business

I've just had a high bill for broadband and telephone usage from BT and I would like to switch to another company.

The Guardian - Money

But for this to work well, you would need to take security over the flat to secure your loan, which could mean high bill for legal fees.

The Guardian - Money

It has been reviewing the latest readings to understand whether a defective meter triggered the high bill, or whether there was another leak.

The Guardian - Money

Francisco Granados, who is responsible for justice and home affairs in the Madrid government, said, "We just can't continue to pay such a high bill and waste taxpayers' money on some abusive usage of the system".

The New York Times

"We're issuing a Public Notice to see if there's any reason that American carriers can't use similar automatic alerts to inform consumers when they are at risk of running up a high bill," he said.

The New York Times - Tech

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

38 human-written examples

One of the key problems is that consumers with high bills have nowhere to turn.

The Guardian - Business

High bills have been justified by the need to finance major investments in nuclear power.

The Guardian

This is evidence that customers are getting fed up with high bills and poor service".

The Guardian - Money

It was negotiated after high bills over the summer angered many Con Ed customers.

The New York Times

Yet food markets deserve equally high billing on a must-see list.

The New York Times - Travel

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

In formal legal or accounting documents, prefer more specific nouns like "invoice", "arrears" or "obligation" if the context allows

Common error

Avoid using the phrase to describe physical height or literal verticality of a paper document. "High bill" almost exclusively describes financial value in modern English.

Linguistic Context

In the phrase "high bill", the word "high" functions as an adjective that modifies the noun "bill". This construction is extremely common in both attributive and predicative positions. Ludwig AI confirms this as a standard English collocation with a high success rate in various registers.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

55%

Formal & Business

30%

Wiki

15%

Less common in

Science

5%

Social Media

3%

Encyclopedias

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "high bill" is a standard and highly effective way to describe a significant financial cost in English. According to Ludwig AI and the provided search data, it is most frequently used in the context of utility costs, service charges and legal fees. With 22 exact matches from top-tier sources like The Guardian and The New York Times, the phrase is verified as both grammatically correct and stylistically appropriate for professional writing. It functions primarily to alert the reader to a large expense or to report on economic hardships. For writers seeking more precision, alternatives like "<a href="/s/expensive+invoice" target="_blank" rel="alternative">expensive invoice" or "<a href="/s/steep+charge" target="_blank" rel="alternative">steep charge" may be used depending on whether the tone should be more formal or descriptive.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

large bill

Emphasizes the quantitative magnitude of the amount due

expensive invoice

Adds a formal or commercial tone often used in B2B contexts

steep charge

Uses 'steep' to highlight the difficulty or severity of the cost

hefty tab

Informal and often used for service-related or hospitality costs

substantial cost

Shifts from the document itself to the broader economic impact

excessive fee

Suggests that the amount might be unfair or higher than expected

sky-high statement

An idiomatic way to describe an exceptionally large total

costly check

Refers specifically to dining or banking documents in American English

outsize payment

Focuses on the scale of the financial obligation

considerable expense

A very formal way to describe a significant financial burden

FAQs

How to use high bill in a sentence?

You can use it as a subject or object to describe a large expense, for example: "Unexpected roaming charges resulted in a <a href="/s/high+bill" target="_blank" rel="alternative">high bill at the end of the month".

What can I say instead of high bill?

Depending on the context, you can use phrases like "<a href="/s/large+bill" target="_blank" rel="alternative">large bill", "<a href="/s/expensive+invoice" target="_blank" rel="alternative">expensive invoice", or "<a href="/s/steep+charge" target="_blank" rel="alternative">steep charge".

Is high bill or large bill more common?

Both are frequently used, but "<a href="/s/high+bill" target="_blank" rel="alternative">high bill" is slightly more common when referring to service costs like energy or phone usage.

What is the difference between high bill and expensive bill?

While similar, "<a href="/s/expensive+bill" target="_blank" rel="alternative">expensive bill" is often perceived as redundant since bills are inherently about cost, whereas "high bill" specifically emphasizes that the total exceeds the normal range.