value

[val-yoo]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR value ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

relative worth, merit, or importance: the value of a college education; the value of a queen in chess.

monetary or material worth, as in commerce or trade: This piece of land has greatly increased in value.

the worth of something in terms of the amount of other things for which it can be exchanged or in terms of some medium of exchange.

equivalent worth or return in money, material, services, etc.: to give value for value received.

estimated or assigned worth; valuation: a painting with a current value of $500,000.

denomination, as of a monetary issue or a postage stamp.

Mathematics.

magnitude; quantity; number represented by a figure, symbol, or the like: the value of an angle; the value of x; the value of a sum.
a point in the range of a function; a point in the range corresponding to a given point in the domain of a function: The value of x2 at 2 is 4.

import or meaning; force; significance: the value of a word.

liking or affection; favorable regard.

values, Sociology. the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard. These values may be positive, as cleanliness, freedom, or education, or negative, as cruelty, crime, or blasphemy.

Ethics. any object or quality desirable as a means or as an end in itself.

Fine Arts.

degree of lightness or darkness in a color.
the relation of light and shade in a painting, drawing, or the like.

Music. the relative length or duration of a tone signified by a note.

values, Mining. the marketable portions of an orebody.

Phonetics.

quality.
the phonetic equivalent of a letter, as the sound of a in hat, sang, etc.

verb (used with object), val·ued, val·u·ing.

to calculate or reckon the monetary value of; give a specified material or financial value to; assess; appraise: to value their assets.

to consider with respect to worth, excellence, usefulness, or importance.

to regard or esteem highly: He values her friendship.

Origin of value

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French, noun use of feminine past participle (cf. valuta) of valoir < Latin valēre to be worth

Related formsmis·val·ue, verb (used with object), mis·val·ued, mis·val·u·ing.non·val·ue, nounout·val·ue, verb (used with object), out·val·ued, out·val·u·ing.pre·val·ue, noun, verb (used with object), pre·val·ued, pre·val·u·ing.self-val·u·ing, adjectivesu·per·val·ue, noun, verb (used with object), su·per·val·ued, su·per·val·u·ing.

Synonyms for value

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR value ON THESAURUS.COM

1. utility. 3. cost, price. 18. prize.

Synonym study

1. Value, worth imply intrinsic excellence or desirability. Value is that quality of anything which renders it desirable or useful: the value of sunlight or good books. Worth implies especially spiritual qualities of mind and character, or moral excellence: Few knew her true worth. 18. See appreciate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for value

profit, price, rate, amount, cost, expense, use, power, quality, sense, meaning, content, importance, benefit, purpose, significance, import, valuation, appraisal, charge

Examples from the Web for value

Contemporary Examples of value

But there's a ton of value for me in my background and my history, and losing it would be a shame.
My Week on Jewish Tinder
Emily Shire
January 5, 2015
As Randy notes, “Maybe there is a value in shining a light on this and asking the questions.”
Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism
Samantha Allen
January 1, 2015
Canned drinks like Mercy contain up 5,000 percent of the daily value of certain vitamins.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures
Justin Jones
December 30, 2014
In a humiliating turn of events, the ruble has lost about half its value against the dollar so far this year.
Putin Can’t Bully or Bomb a Recession
Daniel Gross
December 16, 2014
He called her The Duchess, and if The Duchess didn't like something, then it was of no value.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014

Historical Examples of value

Obulus, (plural Oboli)—A small coin, about the value of a penny.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
He's too honest entirely to stale the value of a pin, let alone a carpetbag.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
I can bear witness to the value of her services in South Carolina and Florida.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
As a result the grain in the Egyptian markets had greatly increased in value.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
It was but just, that a man should be spoken evil of, who set no value upon his reputation.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for value

value

noun

the desirability of a thing, often in respect of some property such as usefulness or exchangeability; worth, merit, or importance

an amount, esp a material or monetary one, considered to be a fair exchange in return for a thing; assigned valuationthe value of the picture is £10 000

reasonable or equivalent return; satisfactionvalue for money

precise meaning or significance

(plural) the moral principles and beliefs or accepted standards of a person or social groupa person with old-fashioned values

maths

a particular magnitude, number, or amountthe value of the variable was 7
the particular quantity that is the result of applying a function or operation for some given argumentthe value of the function for x=3 was 9

music short for time value

(in painting, drawing, etc)

a gradation of tone from light to dark or of colour luminosity
the relation of one of these elements to another or to the whole picture

phonetics the quality or tone of the speech sound associated with a written character representing it`g' has the value dʒ in English `gem'

verb -ues, -uing or -ued (tr)

to assess or estimate the worth, merit, or desirability of; appraise

to have a high regard for, esp in respect of worth, usefulness, merit, etc; esteem or prizeto value freedom

(foll by at) to fix the financial or material worth of (a unit of currency, work of art, etc)jewels valued at £40 000

Word Origin for value

C14: from Old French, from valoir, from Latin valēre to be worth, be strong

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

Word Origin and History for value

c.1300, from Old French value "worth, value" (13c.), noun use of fem. past participle of valoir "be worth," from Latin valere "be strong, be well, be of value" (see valiant). The meaning "social principle" is attested from 1918, supposedly borrowed from the language of painting. Value judgment (1892) is a loan-translation of German Werturteil.

mid-15c., probably from value (n.). Related: Valued, valuing.

value in Medicine