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

That lower valuation doesn’t mean the stock is cheap.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

It raised $1 billion in Series H funding in February at a roughly $23 billion valuation, less than five months after being valued at $8.1 billion after a Series G funding round.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

OpenAI selectively released its cybersecurity model; Anthropic received funding offers at an $800 billion valuation.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

In February, the company raised $1 billion at a $23 billion postmoney valuation.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

Of his niece he did not think at all, nor of the arbitrary valuation of the money.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

Related Words

• assessment
• cost
• estimate