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Synonyms

treasure

American  
[trezh-er] / ˈtrɛʒ ər /

noun

  1. wealth or riches stored or accumulated, especially in the form of precious metals, money, jewels, or plate.

    Synonyms:
    hoard

  2. wealth, rich materials, or valuable things.

  3. any thing or person greatly valued or highly prized.

    This book was his chief treasure.

verb (used with object)

treasured, treasuring

  1. to retain carefully or keep in store, as in the mind.

  2. to regard or treat as precious; cherish.

    Synonyms:
    esteem, value

  3. to put away for security or future use, as money.

    Synonyms:
    hoard
treasure British  
/ ˈtrɛʒə /

noun

  1. wealth and riches, usually hoarded, esp in the form of money, precious metals, or gems

  2. a thing or person that is highly prized or valued

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to prize highly as valuable, rare, or costly

  2. to store up and save; hoard

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • treasurable adjective
  • treasureless adjective
  • untreasurable adjective
  • untreasured adjective

Etymology

Origin of treasure

First recorded in 1125–75; (for the noun) Middle English tresor, from Old French, from Gallo-Romance trēsaurus (unrecorded), from Latin thēsaurus “storehouse, hoard” ( thesaurus ); verb derivative of the noun

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.

Geoffrey McQuilkin, executive director of the nonprofit Mono Lake Committee, urged the state water board to act, saying in three decades DWP “has shown that it will not restore this national treasure voluntarily.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

A small party heads for the northern frontier, where they will find something more than the treasure they hoped for.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

For a reporter on the Fed beat, Greenspan was a treasure.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

One person's waste is another person's treasure and for artist Nicola Ellis, that saying could not be more accurate.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

“I just don’t feel the need, that’s all! What does this say, Zheng?” he said, pointing at a part of the map close to the islet where the treasure was supposed to be buried.

From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook

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.