precious

American  

[presh-uhs] / ˈprɛʃ əs /

adjective

1. of high price or great value; very valuable or costly.

   precious metals.

2. highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial, or moral quality.

   precious memories.

3. dear; beloved.

   a precious child.

   Synonyms:

   darling

4. affectedly or excessively delicate, refined, or nice.

   precious manners.

5. flagrant; gross.

   a precious fool.

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noun

1. a dearly beloved person; darling.

adverb

1. extremely; very.

   She wastes precious little time.

precious British  

/ ˈprɛʃəs /

adjective

1. beloved; dear; cherished

2. very costly or valuable

3. held in high esteem, esp in moral or spiritual matters

4. very fastidious or affected, as in speech, manners, etc

5. informal worthless

   you and your precious ideas!

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adverb

1. informal (intensifier)

   there's precious little left

Related Words

See valuable.

Other Word Forms

• nonprecious adjective
• nonpreciously adverb
• nonpreciousness noun
• preciously adverb
• preciousness noun
• unprecious adjective
• unpreciously adverb
• unpreciousness noun

Etymology

Origin of precious

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English preciose (from Old French precios ), from Latin pretiōsus “costly, valuable,” equivalent to preti(um) “price, value, worth” ( price ) + -ōsus -ous

Example Sentences

Because buyers stepped in near key support levels between roughly $4,000 and $4,340—levels that have held multiple times over the past year—the precious metal may be positioned to sustain its longer-term bull market.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

What next for Dowman - how do you look after a precious talent?

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

“The precious metal appears to have found some support near $4,500 an ounce, with investors taking advantage of cheaper gold as inflation worries weighed on the metal,” analysts at ANZ said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Iraq's precious archaeological sites, some dating back thousands of years, had for years faced threats ranging from climate change to successive conflicts.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

And yet, as she rode the omnibus with the three Incorrigible children seated next to her and Lord Fredrick’s precious almanac in her lap, she found herself deeply curious about the contents of this book.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood