cost of living

American  

noun

1. the average cost of food, clothing, and other necessary or usual goods and services paid by a person, family, etc., or considered as a standard by the members of a group.

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cost of living British  

noun

1. 1. the basic cost of the food, clothing, shelter, and fuel necessary to maintain life, esp at a standard regarded as basic or minimal

   2. ( as modifier )

      the cost-of-living index

2. the average expenditure of a person or family in a given period

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cost of living Cultural  

1. The average cost of the basic necessities of life, including food, shelter, and clothing.

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Discover More

In the United States, the cost of living is monitored in the consumer price index (formerly called the cost-of-living index), published monthly by the federal government.

Other Word Forms

• cost-of-living adjective

Etymology

Origin of cost of living

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Unison south-west regional secretary, Tim Roberts, said the offer was "far below what workers need to keep up with the cost of living".

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

“Lots of people want to buy a house, especially Millennials and Gen Z, but there’s so much uncertainty over mortgage rates and cost of living that they’re being picky.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Retirees aged 75 and older, however, spend closer to 14% of their budget on healthcare—so the same 3.1% price increase hits them twice as hard, adding about 0.44 percentage points to their cost of living.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

“Getting global shipping moving is vital to ease cost of living pressures,” he said in a statement on X.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

“We want you to organize a committee against the high cost of living ...” “The high cost of living?”

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright