expensive

American  

[ik-spen-siv] / ɪkˈspɛn sɪv /

adjective

1. entailing great expense; very high-priced; costly.

   an expensive party.

   Antonyms:

   low-priced, cheap

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expensive British  

/ ɪkˈspɛnsɪv /

adjective

1. high-priced; costly; dear

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Usage

What does expensive mean? Expensive means something is high priced or costs a lot of money. Expensive is most often applied to items with very high prices, such as luxury cars. But it can also be used to describe things whose price or cost is simply high compared to others. Example: I like it, but it’s just too expensive. Do you have any lower-priced models?

Related Words

Expensive, costly, dear, high-priced apply to something that is high in price. Expensive is applied to whatever entails considerable expense; it suggests a price more than the average person would normally be able to pay or a price paid only for something special: an expensive automobile. Costly implies that the price is a large sum, usually because of the fineness, preciousness, etc., of the object: a costly jewel. Dear is commonly applied in England to something that is selling beyond its usual or just price. In the U. S., high-priced is the usual equivalent.

Other Word Forms

• expensively
  adverb
• expensiveness
  noun
• quasi-expensive
  adjective
• quasi-expensively
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of expensive

First recorded in 1620–30; expense + -ive

Explanation

The adjective expensive means high in price, like the expensive basketball sneakers you had to work all summer to save up enough money to buy. Expensive comes from the 1620s, when it meant "given to profuse expenditure." Back then, it was the people doing the buying who got called "expensive." Now it's the costly things they buy or take part in. For example, sailing is an expensive hobby. If someone tells you, "I have expensive taste," it means that person likes things that cost a lot of money, whether they are purchased or just admired from the shop window.

Example Sentences

Despite the 77% rally in the Korean market this year, rising earnings expectations means that the market doesn’t look expensive relative to the two markets it’s just overtaken.

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

The latter are complicated, expensive and behind schedule.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

The cheapest and most expensive match day tickets, in the Anfield Road Stand and Main Stand respectively, are priced at £30 and £62.75.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

It is likely to ease rules restricting "tankering", the practice of aircraft carrying more fuel than necessary to avoid buying more expensive fuel at other airports.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

After the broken phone and Dad’s expensive plane ticket, I didn’t want to make things worse for Mom and Dad.

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

Related Words

• costly
• extravagant
• fancy
• high
• lavish
• overpriced
• pricey
• upscale
• valuable