costly
Americanadjective
-
costlier,
comparative
-
costliest
superlative
-
costing much; expensive; high in price.
a costly emerald bracelet; costly medical care.
- Synonyms:
- high-priced, dear
-
resulting in great expense.
The upkeep of such a large house is costly.
-
resulting in great detriment.
It was a costly mistake because no one ever trusted him again.
-
of great value; very valuable; sumptuous.
-
lavish; extravagant.
adjective
-
of great price or value; expensive
-
entailing great loss or sacrifice
a costly victory
-
splendid; lavish
Synonym Usage
See expensive.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of costly
First recorded in 1350–1400, costly is from the Middle English word costli. See cost, -ly
Explanation
Something that's costly is expensive. The worst kind of news you can hear from your car mechanic is that you need costly repairs. Things that cost a lot of money are costly, but you can also use the word for events that cost you other things — like time, happiness, or advantage. A soldier's costly mistake might result in someone's death, and a costly law might end up hurting the people it's meant to help.In the 13th century, costful was used instead, and both words stem from cost, which has a Latin root, constare, "to stand at," or "to cost."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The defensive cohort are serviceable on the ball but have made costly errors under pressure, playing out from the back, this season too.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2026
Other analysts said the proposal could make costs to the average individual lower by expanding the pool of healthier — and therefore less costly — beneficiaries.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026
The shift is costly but could spur investment in tanks and caverns—and new hunger for oil as countries replenish reserves and build bigger buffers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
Many experiments involving exotic quantum states depend on costly cryogenic systems designed to maintain temperatures close to absolute zero.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026
Why then did they not court her in the proper way for a lady of family and fortune by giving her costly gifts?
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
She wants them to move to the Boston Seaport or Cambridge, but both areas are costlier than Cam can afford.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
Along with making those companies’ borrowing costlier, it raises a bigger question: How much more expensive can financing get before it starts to slow the AI build-out?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
Higher mortgage rates make it costlier for builders to buy forward commitments from lenders, which is an agreement to buy mortgages in bulk at a below-market rate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
This year’s energy surge could deliver a second hit to inflation as costlier oil becomes embedded in downstream goods and services in the coming year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
But they bowed to Sproul’s judgment that losing Lawrence would be even costlier, and voted to cover all the annual operating and maintenance costs that Lawrence had budgeted for the Rad Lab.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
It’s a difficult calculation for teams, especially because the last couple of years have shown that the costliest financial mistake in all of football is handing out one of those megadeals to the wrong quarterback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
This is probably the least costly option, but also the costliest politically.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Local enthusiasm for the tournament had fallen away after co-hosts the United States were knocked out by Belgium on July 6, but tickets for the final still became the costliest in US sporting history.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
Berlin aims to rationalize burdensome data-protection regulations, freeing small businesses from the costliest strictures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Exquisite in its size, perfect in its shape, the stone was lovelier than the finest pearl and more gorgeous than the costliest jewel.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
