overwhelming costs

USAGE SUMMARY

"overwhelming costs" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when you're referring to an excessive amount of expenses or complications that are, perhaps, too burdensome. For example: "The overwhelming costs of the project prevented us from starting it on time."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

8 human-written examples

Generally, the overwhelming costs for educational institutions are salaries for teachers and support staff.

The New York Times

Addressing these challenges is of the utmost importance, given the still difficult economy and the overwhelming costs of higher education.

The New York Times

Some critics fear that beefing up treatment of the most common mental-health problems risks saddling the system with overwhelming costs.

The Economist

Instead, our society could have the compassion to say, "There but for the grace of God go I," and provide some sort of birth-catastrophe insurance to pay the overwhelming costs of raising a profoundly disabled child.

The New York Times

And even if we made all those cuts, taxes would still go up because county taxpayers would still have to bear the overwhelming costs of state mandates like Medicaid.

The New York Times

And to avoid bureaucrats blocking these requests, we will introduce a rule that any request will be successful unless it can be proved that it would lead to overwhelming costs or demonstrable personal privacy or national security concerns.

The Guardian

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

49 human-written examples

Given the economy, you draw important attention to a grave failure in America's social policy: a growing number of low-income single parents cannot afford to work because of the overwhelming cost of child care.

The New York Times

Systematic and automated approaches have shown capable of reducing the overwhelming cost of engineering such systems.

Journal of Software Engineering Research and Development

Subsurface offset gathers for shot profile or plane-wave migration, particularly 3D subsurface offset gathers, can be an overwhelming cost.

EURASIP Journal on Embedded Systems

Especially as crop commodity prices stay low - a multi-year trend USDA predicts will continue - the overwhelming cost of farm inputs has squeezed profitability out of crop production.

Huffington Post

Second, the overwhelming cost of a legal education must be brought down by increasing the availability and efficiency of student loan forgiveness programs or altogether changing the way lawyers are educated in order to reduce the cost of tuition.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "overwhelming costs", clearly specify what is causing these high costs to provide context for your readers.

Common error

Avoid using "overwhelming costs" when the expenses are simply higher than expected, ensure they truly create a significant burden or obstacle.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "overwhelming costs" functions as a noun phrase where the adjective "overwhelming" modifies the noun "costs". It describes expenses that are so high they are difficult to manage or bear. Ludwig AI confirms this usage is correct.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

40%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "overwhelming costs" is a grammatically correct and usable phrase that effectively describes expenses that are excessively high and difficult to manage. Ludwig AI confirms its validity. While not extremely common, it's found in various contexts, particularly in News & Media and Science, indicating its relevance across diverse discussions. When using this phrase, ensure that the expenses genuinely represent a significant burden. Alternatives such as "prohibitive costs" or "exorbitant expenses" can provide nuanced variations.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

prohibitive costs

Replaces "overwhelming" with "prohibitive", highlighting the hindering aspect of the costs.

exorbitant expenses

Uses "exorbitant" to emphasize the excessiveness of the expenses.

crushing financial burden

Shifts the focus to the burden aspect, implying a heavy load to bear.

astronomical prices

Replaces "costs" with "prices" and "overwhelming" with "astronomical" to indicate extremely high values.

unbearable financial strain

Highlights the strain caused by the high costs, suggesting a breaking point.

crippling expenses

Emphasizes the damaging effect of the expenses, suggesting a severe impact.

unmanageable expenditures

Focuses on the difficulty in managing the high level of spending.

excessive overhead

Replaces "costs" with "overhead", focusing on operational expenses and their excessiveness.

sky-high price tags

Uses a more visual and informal expression to convey the idea of very high prices.

ruinous outlays

Focuses on the destructive nature of the financial expenses.

FAQs

How can I use "overwhelming costs" in a sentence?

You can use "overwhelming costs" to describe expenses that are too high to manage or bear, such as, "The "overwhelming costs" of healthcare are a major concern for many families".

What are some alternatives to saying "overwhelming costs"?

Some alternatives include "prohibitive costs", "exorbitant expenses", or "crushing financial burden", depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is it correct to say "the costs are overwhelming"?

Yes, "the costs are overwhelming" is grammatically correct and conveys a similar meaning to "overwhelming costs". The choice depends on the desired sentence structure.

What makes costs "overwhelming" rather than just "high"?

"Overwhelming costs" suggest that the expenses are not only high but also difficult or impossible to manage, creating significant problems or obstacles. It implies a sense of being burdened or defeated by the financial demands.