price

¹

[prahys]

noun

1. the sum or amount of money or its equivalent for which anything is bought, sold, or offered for sale.

2. a sum offered for the capture of a person alive or dead.

   The authorities put a price on his head.

3. the sum of money, or other consideration, for which a person's support, consent, etc., may be obtained, especially in cases involving sacrifice of integrity.

   They claimed that every politician has a price.

4. that which must be given, done, or undergone in order to obtain a thing.

   He gained the victory, but at a heavy price.

5. odds.

6. Archaic.,  value or worth.

7. Archaic.,  great value or worth (usually preceded byof ).

verb (used with object)

priced, pricing 

1. to fix the price of.

2. to ask or determine the price of.

   We spent the day pricing furniture at various stores.

Price

²

[prahys]

noun

1. Bruce, 1845–1903, U.S. architect.

2. (Edward) Reynolds, 1933–2011, U.S. novelist.

3. (Mary) Leontyne born 1927, U.S. soprano.

4. a male given name.

price

/ praɪs /

noun

1. the sum in money or goods for which anything is or may be bought or sold

2. the cost at which anything is obtained

3. the cost of bribing a person

4. a sum of money offered or given as a reward for a capture or killing

5. value or worth, esp high worth

6. gambling another word for odds

7. whatever the price or cost

8. at a high price

9. invaluable or priceless

10. what someone deserves, esp a fitting punishment

    it's just the price of him

11. what are the chances of something happening now?

verb

1. to fix or establish the price of

2. to ascertain or discover the price of

3. to charge so highly for as to prevent the sale, hire, etc, of

Other Word Forms

• priceable adjective
• preprice verb (used with object)
• reprice verb
• well-priced adjective
• pricer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of price¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; (noun) Middle English pris(e), from Old French, Latin pretium “price, value, worth” ( precious ); (verb) late Middle English prisen, from Middle French prisier, derivative of pris, Old French as above; prize ², praise

Word History and Origins

Origin of price¹

C13 pris, from Old French, from Latin pretium price, value, wage

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at any price, at any cost, no matter how great.

   Their orders were to capture the town at any price.

2. beyond / without price, of incalculable value; priceless.

   The crown jewels are beyond price.

More idioms and phrases containing price

• at all costs (at any price)
• cheap at twice the price
• every man has his price

Synonym Study

Price, charge, cost, expense refer to outlay or expenditure required in buying or maintaining something. Price is used mainly of single, concrete objects offered for sale; charge, of services: What is the price of that coat? There is a small charge for mailing packages. Cost is mainly a purely objective term, often used in financial calculations: The cost of building a new annex was estimated at $10,000. Expense suggests cost plus incidental expenditure: The expense of the journey was more than the contemplated cost. Only charge is not used figuratively. Price, cost, and sometimes expense may be used to refer to the expenditure of mental energy, what one “pays” in anxiety, suffering, etc.

Example Sentences

Americans are expected to see skyrocketing health care prices as the open enrollment period for insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace begins on Saturday.

Read more on BBC

Meanwhile, in 1808, the U.S. banned the importation of enslaved Africans, which drove up the price of bonded laborers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The most affluent Americans have gained trillions of dollars in new wealth in the past five years, largely thanks to rising home prices and a robust stock market.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Big power bills are overlapping with rising food prices and inflation that remains persistently above the Federal Reserve’s target, frustrating Americans.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

For whatever theatrics politicians are displaying during the shutdown, at the end of the day, it’s still leaving ordinary Americans to pay the price.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• amount 
• bill 
• cost 
• demand 
• discount 
• estimate 
• expenditure 
• expense 
• fare 
• fee 
• figure 
• output 
• pay 
• payment 
• premium 
• rate 
• return 
• tariff 
• valuation 
• worth