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• cost
  cost

  noun

  the price paid to acquire, produce, accomplish, or maintain anything.
• cost-
  cost-

  variant of costo- before a vowel.

cost

¹ American  

[kawst, kost] / kɔst, kɒst /

noun

• costs
  plural

1. the price paid to acquire, produce, accomplish, or maintain anything.

   the high cost of a good meal.

   Synonyms:

   outlay, expenditure, expense, charge

2. an outlay or expenditure of money, time, labor, trouble, etc..

   What will the cost be to me?

3. a sacrifice, loss, or penalty.

   to work at the cost of one's health.

   Synonyms:

   detriment

4. Law. costs,

   1. money allowed to a successful party in a lawsuit in compensation for legal expenses incurred, chargeable to the unsuccessful party.

   2. money due to a court or one of its officers for services in a cause.

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verb (used with object)

• costs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cost,
  past participle,  past
• costed,
  past participle,  past
• costing
  present participle

1. to require the payment of (money or something else of value) in an exchange.

   That camera cost $200.

2. to result in or entail the loss of.

   Carelessness costs lives.

3. to cause to lose or suffer.

   The accident cost her a broken leg.

4. to entail (effort or inconvenience).

   Courtesy costs little.

5. to cause to pay or sacrifice.

   That request will cost us two weeks' extra work.

6. to estimate or determine the cost of (manufactured articles, new processes, etc.).

   We have costed the manufacture of each item.

verb (used without object)

• costs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cost,
  past participle,  past
• costed,
  past participle,  past
• costing
  present participle

1. to estimate or determine costs, as of manufacturing something.

verb phrase

1. cost out to calculate the cost of (a project, product, etc.) in advance.

   The firm that hired him just costed out a major construction project last month.

idioms

1. at all costs, regardless of the effort involved; by any means necessary: Also at any cost.

   The stolen painting must be recovered at all costs.

cost- ² American  

1. variant of costo- before a vowel.

   costate.

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cost British  

/ kɒst /

noun

1. the price paid or required for acquiring, producing, or maintaining something, usually measured in money, time, or energy; expense or expenditure; outlay

2. suffering or sacrifice; loss; penalty

   count the cost to your health

   I know to my cost

3. 1. the amount paid for a commodity by its seller

      to sell at cost

   2. ( as modifier )

      the cost price

4. (plural) law the expenses of judicial proceedings

5. regardless of cost or sacrifice involved

6. at the expense of losing

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verb

1. (tr) to be obtained or obtainable in exchange for (money or something equivalent); be priced at

   the ride cost one pound

2. to cause or require the expenditure, loss, or sacrifice (of)

   the accident cost him dearly

3. to estimate the cost of (a product, process, etc) for the purposes of pricing, budgeting, control, etc

cost More Idioms  

1. see arm and a leg, cost an; at all costs; pretty penny, cost a.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of cost? Cost means a price that must be paid for something or a sacrifice. Cost is used as a verb to mean to require a payment or to cause the loss of something. Cost has several other senses as a noun and a verb. Cost most often refers to a specific amount of money that a seller wants for the item they are selling. However, cost is also used more generally to mean whatever the price of an item is. If the price is high or expensive, it is said to be costly.

• Real-life examples: A pack of gum may have a cost of $1. The cost of a college education is usually very high. When a store is having a sale, it usually lowers the cost of the things it sells.
• Used in a sentence: The cost to repair the repair was unreasonably high. 

Cost is also a sacrifice, loss, or damage.

• Real-life examples: The cost of staying up all night is usually being tired the next day. The cost of eating too much is often a stomachache. The cost of driving too fast is often a speeding ticket and sometimes a car accident.
• Used in a sentence: The demon offered him endless riches at the cost of his soul. 

As a verb, cost means to require a payment in exchange for something, such as a service or a product. The payment can be money but also anything that has value.

• Real-life examples: Stores will use price tags to tell customers how much items cost. A hotel in Monopoly costs four houses and some extra money. A parent may tell their child that a piece of cake costs a hug.
• Used in a sentence: The new computer costs $800. 

Cost is also used to mean to result in the loss of something or to cause to suffer something.

• Real-life examples: Stress and a poor diet will cost a person their good health. Drunk driving will more than likely cost a person their driver’s license or worse. Succeeding at a job usually costs time and energy.
• Used in a sentence: His obsession with getting revenge cost him his job and his family.

What does cost- mean? Cost- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “rib.” It is used in some medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology. Cost- comes from the Latin costa, meaning “rib, side.” The word costa was borrowed directly into English as a term for a “rib,” among other senses. The Latin costa is also the source of the word coast. Explore more at our entry for coast. Cost- is a variant of costo-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use costo- article.

Synonym Usage

See price.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• costlessness
  noun
• recost
  verb (used with object)
• costless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• costs
  plural

Participles

• costing
  present
• cost
  past
• costed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cost
  simple
• costs
  simple
• have cost
  perfect
• have costed
  perfect
• has cost
  perfect
• has costed
  perfect
• am costing
  progressive
• are costing
  progressive
• is costing
  progressive
• have been costing
  perfect progressive
• has been costing
  perfect progressive

Past

• cost
  simple
• costed
  simple
• had cost
  perfect
• had costed
  perfect
• was costing
  progressive
• were costing
  progressive
• had been costing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cost
  simple
• will have cost
  perfect
• will have costed
  perfect
• will be costing
  progressive
• will have been costing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cost

First recorded in 1200–50; (verb) Middle English costen, from Anglo-French, Old French co(u)ster, from Latin constāre “to stand together, be settled, cost”; cf. constant; (noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, noun derivative of the verb

Explanation

The cost of something is how much money you need to spend on it. The high cost of a fancy coffee drink might surprise you. A new car costs thousands of dollars, while in some places penny candy still only costs a penny per piece. Cost also means "cause a loss," as when a bad fumble costs your favorite football team the game, or your brother's cheating on a test costs him the respect of his favorite teacher. The Old French cost meant "outlay, expenditure, hardship, or trouble," from the Latin root constare, "to stand at or to cost."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cost cost- costs costed costing

With more than 70% of all goods Americans purchase moving by truck, fuel prices are embedded in the cost of everything consumers buy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

Large rental agencies often don’t bother recovering vehicles that disappear across the border, and consider the loss the cost of doing business, Carter said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Adjusted for inflation, Abbott’s security detail cost $7,400 per month.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

But the US giant "fully funds the cost of required power infrastructure upgrades".

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

“The Civil War lasted four years. Over and over, Caesar killed. He helped free a people. I’m grateful. Yet I expect his memories—the cost is almost unbearable.”

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

"It's at no cost- she has no legal aid," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

This session, he chaired the Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee, modeled after Elon Musk’s federal cost- and service-cutting committee, and helped establish a Texas Cyber Command, one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency priorities.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2025

The researchers noted that existing computational methods are cost- and time-intensive.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2024

“Given the challenging times ahead, we accelerated several cost- and cash- containment measures to safeguard our financial performance.”

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 3, 2023

Relying on information polled from hundreds of middle-class non-churchgoers, some enterprising ministers came up with a product bound to please: nothing boring or aggressive; cost- efficiency; comfortable seating; no organ.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Mihai Nadin

Long-term Treasury yields have been on the march since the summer, raising borrowing costs across the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

Rising long-term interest rates pose risks to the current bull market since they pressure stock valuation, raise borrowing costs for corporations and increase competition for investor money.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026

The newsrooms’ review of Paxton’s travel records, obtained through the state’s Public Information Act, could only connect 138 of those trips and $553,000 in security costs to state business.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Even as some American manufacturers have benefited as their foreign competitors encounter higher barriers, others struggle with ballooning costs and persistent uncertainty.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Of course, there’d be some other costs, but my savings should cover them.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Andrew said any changes must be "backed by a clear, credible and fully costed plan that delivers better care for the public and value for taxpayers".

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Findlay told the event in Edinburgh: "This manifesto is our most detailed plan ever for making that vision a reality. It is comprehensive, costed and credible."

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026

Millar said his "raft of credible and fully costed positive policies" for Wales included cutting income tax by a penny in the pound, and cutting waiting lists in the NHS by declaring a health emergency.

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026

The council is leading a 20-year project to regenerate the area, which is costed at about £126m, and includes plans for new affordable housing and improved transport links.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025

“Don’t see how. When my daddy died last year this April it costed one hundred and fifty dollars. ’

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

State police joined him each time, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for trips unrelated to his job as attorney general.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

He punctuated his performance with a fastball on the corner that ended the inning and wound up costing Atlanta its final ABS challenge.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

In purchasing power parity terms, which accounts for goods and services typically costing less in poorer countries, Chinese per capita GDP of about $29,500 was 2.5 times India’s $12,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

These companies saw hundreds of customers queueing to create their own dessert pot, despite it not being a particularly cheap treat, with tubs costing as much as £12.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

My bank balance was down to $133.26, with each copy costing a dime, but like Mrs. Smith had said, got to go big.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Related Words

• amount
• charge
• damage
• expenditure
• figure
• outlay
• payment
• price
• price tag
• rate
• tariff
• value
• worth