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 heatwaves pummelling Europe this summer will have costly impacts on industries ranging from agriculture to tourism -- but that hasn't stopped stock markets from hitting all-time highs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
If there is a mortgage, lenders generally require insurance to remain active and may impose costly force-placed insurance if coverage lapses.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
A much less costly way to get European citizenship is by descent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The executive transition is also costly for Cracker Barrel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
There was no money whatsoever in the city’s budget for such costly endeavors, plus no desire to undertake them.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Built from high-resolution microscope images rather than costlier molecular techniques, it creates a detailed three-dimensional map of the brainstem, identifying more than 200 clusters of brain cells and nerve pathways.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Higher interest rates make it costlier to borrow money, which acts as a brake on spending, employment, and economic growth.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2026
They’re getting costlier, rising at a faster clip than some other areas of health insurance.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
If they prevail, expect costlier new homes and thousands of lost jobs in the U.S. quartz fabricating industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 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
This is probably the least costly option, but also the costliest politically.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Geological Survey warned the earthquakes had the potential to rank among the deadliest and costliest in the country’s history, projecting a death toll in the tens of thousands and billions of dollars in economic losses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The Los Angeles blazes were the costliest wildfires in world history, with total insured losses estimated at $40 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
It was reported to be the costliest documentary film of all time, even with production costs undisclosed.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
When Cortes and his Indian allies finally attacked, the Mexica resisted so fiercely despite their weakness that the siege has often been described as the costliest battle in history—casualty estimates range up to 100,000.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
