cost

[ kawst, kost ]

/ kɔst, kɒst /

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See synonyms for: cost / costed / costing / costs on Thesaurus.com

noun

the price paid to acquire, produce, accomplish, or maintain anything: the high cost of a good meal.

an outlay or expenditure of money, time, labor, trouble, etc.: What will the cost be to me?

a sacrifice, loss, or penalty: to work at the cost of one's health.

costs, Law.

money allowed to a successful party in a lawsuit in compensation for legal expenses incurred, chargeable to the unsuccessful party.
money due to a court or one of its officers for services in a cause.

verb (used with object), cost or, for 10, cost·ed;cost·ing.

to require the payment of (money or something else of value) in an exchange: That camera cost $200.

to result in or entail the loss of: Carelessness costs lives.

to cause to lose or suffer: The accident cost her a broken leg.

to entail (effort or inconvenience): Courtesy costs little.

to cause to pay or sacrifice: That request will cost us two weeks' extra work.

to estimate or determine the cost of (manufactured articles, new processes, etc.): We have costed the manufacture of each item.

verb (used without object), cost·ed or cost;cost·ing.

to estimate or determine costs, as of manufacturing something.

Verb Phrases past and past participle cost·ed or cost;present participle cost·ing.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR cost

1 charge, expense, expenditure, outlay.

3 detriment.

See synonyms for cost on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about cost

at all costs, regardless of the effort involved; by any means necessary: The stolen painting must be recovered at all costs.Also at any cost.

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

synonym study for cost

1. See price.

OTHER WORDS FROM cost

costless, adjectivecost·less·ness, nounre·cost, verb (used with object), re·cost, re·cost·ing.

Other definitions for cost (2 of 2)

cost-

variant of costo- before a vowel: costate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cost in a sentence

And in this instance that attitude costed somebody their life.
The Black Widow of Silicon Valley|Michael Daly|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If fully costed, no one would prefer a Medicare policy to a private plan.
The Senate's Scary Health Care Deal|Tunku Varadarajan|December 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST
She already found where Louis Sen makes mistakes, which Gott weiss wie vile it costed us yet.
The Competitive Nephew|Montague Glass
A hundred and twenty-five dollars the fiddle costed me and that's all I charge up.
Abe and Mawruss|Montague Glass

Walkin' 'long—quite shober—sud'ly 'costed by man dressed like 'pleeceman.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, December 10, 1892|Various
The things that friend Brown Shiped to me by the Express costed $24-1/4.
The Underground Railroad|William Still
She's costed me a deal already, but she ain't got all the money.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, May 20, 1893|Various

British Dictionary definitions for cost

cost

/ (kɒst) /

noun

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

suffering or sacrifice; loss; penaltycount the cost to your health; I know to my cost

the amount paid for a commodity by its sellerto sell at cost
(as modifier)the cost price

(plural) law the expenses of judicial proceedings

at any cost or at all costs regardless of cost or sacrifice involved

at the cost of at the expense of losing

verb costs, costing or cost

(tr) to be obtained or obtainable in exchange for (money or something equivalent); be priced atthe ride cost one pound

to cause or require the expenditure, loss, or sacrifice (of)the accident cost him dearly

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

Derived forms of cost

costless, adjective

Word Origin for cost

C13: from Old French (n), from coster to cost, from Latin constāre to stand at, cost, from stāre to stand

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with cost

cost

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

cost

OTHER WORDS FOR cost

Idioms about cost

Origin of cost

synonym study for cost

OTHER WORDS FROM cost

Other definitions for cost (2 of 2)

Words related to cost

How to use cost in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cost

Derived forms of cost

Word Origin for cost

Other Idioms and Phrases with cost