worth

¹

[ wurth ]

preposition

1. good or important enough to justify (what is specified):

   advice worth taking;

   a place worth visiting.

2. having a value of, or equal in value to, as in money:

   This vase is worth 12 dollars.

3. having property to the value or amount of:

   They are worth millions.

noun

1. excellence of character or quality as commanding esteem:

   women of worth.

2. usefulness or importance, as to the world, to a person, or for a purpose:

   Your worth to the world is inestimable.

3. value, as in money.
4. a quantity of something of a specified value:

   ten cents' worth of candy.

5. wealth; riches; property or possessions:

   net worth.

worth

²

[ wurth ]

verb (used without object)

, Archaic.

1. to happen or betide:

   woe worth the day.

Worth

³

[ wurth ]

noun

1. a town in NE Illinois.

worth

¹

/ wɜːθ /

adjective

1. worthy of; meriting or justifying

   an idea worth some thought

   it's not worth discussing

2. having a value of

   the book is worth 30 pounds

3. for all one is worth
   to the utmost; to the full extent of one's powers or ability
4. worth one's weight in gold
   extremely helpful, kind, etc

noun

1. high quality; excellence
2. value, price
3. the amount or quantity of something of a specified value

   five pounds worth of petrol

Worth

²

/ wɜːθ; vɔrt /

noun

1. WorthCharles Frederick18251895MEnglishFASHION, BEAUTY, ETC: fashion designer Charles Frederick. 1825–95, English couturier, who founded Parisian haute couture

worth

³

/ wɜːθ /

verb

1. archaic.
   intr to happen or betide (esp in the phrase woe worth the day )

Word History and Origins

Origin of worth¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English weorth, worth, wurth; cognate with Old High German werd, Old Frisian werth, Old Norse verthr, Gothic wairths

Origin of worth²

First recorded before 900; Middle English worthen, Old English wurthan, weorthan, wyrthan; cognate with German werden, Old Norse vertha, Gothic wairthan “to become,” Latin vertere “to turn”; verse

Word History and Origins

Origin of worth¹

Old English weorth; related to Old Saxon, Old High German werth (German Wert ), Old Norse verthr, Gothic wairths

Origin of worth²

Old English weorthan; related to Old Frisian wertha, Old Saxon, Old High German werthan (German werden ), Old Norse vertha, Gothic wairthan, Latin vertere to turn

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. for all one is worth, Informal. to the utmost:

   He ran for all he was worth.

2. for what it’s worth, whether or not (what is stated) is useful or important enough to justify:

   For what it’s worth, I think you should apologize to him.

More idioms and phrases containing worth

• for all one is worth
• game is not worth the candle
• get one's money's worth
• not worth a damn
• picture is worth a thousand words

Synonym Study

See desert. See value.

Example Sentences

“It’s taken me a long life to know for sure that life is for living, and that hard graft has to be worth it,” Leith writes in the introduction to the book.

From Salon

Severn Trent Water claims that an investment is worth £1.68bn in its accounts, when in reality it has no value to the overall business.

From BBC

But James and his partners were convinced it was worth the risk, given the strong growth of markets in countries like Canada, the US and Germany.

From BBC

Musk, who runs several other businesses, has an estimated net worth of $353 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which lists him as the world's richest person.

From Salon

He estimated he had suffered about $80,000 worth of damage.

From BBC

Related Words

• account
• aid
• benefit
• cost
• credit
• price
• quality
• rate
• valuation