valuation

American  

[val-yoo-ey-shuhn] / ˌvæl yuˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of estimating or setting the value of something; appraisal.

2. an estimated value or worth.

3. the awareness or acknowledgment of the quality, nature, excellence, or the like of something.

   public valuation of the importance of education.

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valuation British  

/ ˌvæljʊˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of valuing, esp a formal assessment of the worth of property, jewellery, etc

2. the price arrived at by the process of valuing

   the valuation of this property is considerable

   I set a high valuation on technical ability

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Other Word Forms

• prevaluation noun
• self-valuation noun
• valuational adjective
• valuationally adverb

Etymology

Origin of valuation

1520–30; value + -ation; compare Middle French valuation

Compare meaning

How does valuation compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• evaluation vs. valuation

Explanation

The process of figuring out exactly how much something is worth is known as valuation. Before you sell your old Pokemon cards, you should take them to an expert for a valuation. Whenever you determine the monetary value of something, that's valuation. However, you're most likely to come across this word in the context of banking or finance. The valuation of a company affects whether or not investors are interested in it, and the valuation of stocks determines how much a stockholder makes when she sells them. Valuation shares a root with value, from the Latin root valere, "be strong, be worth."

Example Sentences

It accounts for a majority of the company’s $1.5 trillion valuation in many Wall Street financial models.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

The rocket and satellite company is reportedly attempting to raise $75 billion or more at a valuation of $1.75 trillion, which could make it the biggest IPO in history.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

However, with capital expenditures set to double this year and free cash flow turning negative, investors will need clearer evidence that unsupervised autonomy is around the corner to support the stock’s valuation, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Freiha declined to disclose financials but said Blank Street has a $500-million valuation, is profitable and sells about three times as many drinks per store as it did three years ago.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Perhaps it was because Arthur was always a simple fellow, who took people at their own valuation easily.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• assessment
• cost
• estimate