worthwhile
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of worthwhile
Explanation
Things that are worthwhile are good — they're worth the time or money you spend on them. If you walked out of the theater and said "Wow, I'm glad I saw that movie!", then your film viewing trip was worthwhile. If going to the gym helped you get in better shape, it was worthwhile. If hanging out in the park made you happy, it was worthwhile. If something is a total waste of time and you wish you hadn't done it, then it wasn't worthwhile.
Vocabulary lists containing worthwhile
Because of Mr. Terupt
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List 9
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"The Ugly One," Vocabulary from Chapters 21-25
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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.
Humboldt County, including the cities of Eureka, Arcata and Ferndale, isn’t exactly easy for Angelenos to get to, but the pilgrimage is absolutely worthwhile.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2026
Trimming its headline size is worthwhile, but the larger opportunity lies in the operating framework behind it.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 19, 2026
Hotel owners never got market-rate compensation for loyalty stays, but the program was seen as worthwhile because it drove loyalty and attracted new customers, hotel owners say.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
In turn, those countries had calculated the investments were worthwhile exercises as nation branding in a more global world.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
More than that, though, they were hard up against the fact that a few minutes of extreme exertion were about to tell them whether five and a half months of training had been worthwhile.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
