Adjacent Words

Cost definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COST, n. [See the Verb.]
1. The price, value or equivalent of a thing purchased; the amount in value paid, charge or engaged to be paid for any thing bought or taken in barter. The word is equally applicable to the price in money or commodities; as the cost of a suit of clothes; the cost of a house or farm.
2. Expense; amount in value expended or to be expended; charge; that which is given or to be given for another thing.
I will not offer burnt offerings without cost. 1 Chronicles 21.
Have we eaten at all at the kings cost? 1 Samuel 19.
The cost of maintaining armies is immense and often ruinous.
3. In law, the sum fixed by law or allowed by the court for charges of a suit awarded against the party losing, in favor of the party prevailing, etc. The jury find that the plaintiff recover of the defendant ten dollars with costs of suit or with his cost.
4. Loss or expense of any kind; detriment; pain; suffering. The vicious man indulges his propensities at a great cost.
5. Sumptuousness; great expense.
COST, v.t. [The noun cost coincides in most of these languages with coast and L. Costa, a rib, the exterior part. The primary sense of the verb is, to throw or send out, to cast, as we say, to lay out. I call this a transitive verb. In the phrase, a hat costs six dollars, the sense is, it expends, lays out, or causes to be laid out six dollars.]
1. To require to be given or expend in barter or purchase; to be bought for; as, this book cost a dollar; the army and navy cost four millions a year.
2. To require to be laid out, given, bestowed or employed; as, Johnsons Dictionary cost him seven years labor.
3. To require to be borne or suffered. Our sins cost us many pains. A sense of ingratitude to his maker costs the penitent sinner many pangs and sorrows.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
2: the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold); "the fluctuating monetary value of gold and silver"; "he puts a high price on his services"; "he couldn't calculate the cost of the collection" [syn: monetary value, price, cost]
3: value measured by what must be given or done or undergone to obtain something; "the cost in human life was enormous"; "the price of success is hard work"; "what price glory?" [syn: price, cost, toll] v
1: be priced at; "These shoes cost $100" [syn: cost, be]
2: require to lose, suffer, or sacrifice; "This mistake cost him his job"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: 13th century 1. a. the amount or equivalent paid or charged for something ; price b. the outlay or expenditure (as of effort or sacrifice) made to achieve an object 2. loss or penalty incurred especially in gaining something 3. plural expenses incurred in litigation; especially those given by the law or the court to the prevailing party against the losing party • costless adjective • costlessly adverb II. verb (cost; costing) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French custer, couster, from Latin constare to stand firm, cost — more at constant Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. to require expenditure or payment <the best goods cost more> 2. to require effort, suffering, or loss transitive verb 1. to have a price of 2. to cause to pay, suffer, or lose something <frequent absences cost him his job> 3. past costed to estimate or set the cost of — often used with out

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. (past and past part. cost) 1 tr. be obtainable for (a sum of money); have as a price (what does it cost?; it cost me £50). 2 tr. involve as a loss or sacrifice (it cost them much effort; it cost him his life). 3 tr. (past and past part. costed) fix or estimate the cost or price of. 4 colloq. a tr. be costly to (it'll cost you). b intr. be costly. --n. 1 what a thing costs; the price paid or to be paid. 2 a loss or sacrifice; an expenditure of time, effort, etc. 3 (in pl.) legal expenses, esp. those allowed in favour of the winning party or against the losing party in a suit. Phrases and idioms: at all costs (or at any cost) no matter what the cost or risk may be. at cost at the initial cost; at cost price. at the cost of at the expense of losing or sacrificing. cost accountant an accountant who records costs and (esp. overhead) expenses in a business concern. cost-benefit assessing the relation between the cost of an operation and the value of the resulting benefits (cost-benefit analysis). cost (or costing) clerk a clerk who records costs and expenses in a business concern. cost a person dear (or dearly) involve a person in a high cost or a heavy penalty. cost-effective effective or productive in relation to its cost. cost of living the level of prices esp. of the basic necessities of life. cost-plus calculated as the basic cost plus a profit factor. cost price the price paid for a thing by one who later sells it. cost push Econ. factors other than demand that cause inflation. to a person's cost at a person's expense; with loss or disadvantage to a person. Etymology: ME f. OF coster, couster, coust ult. f. L constare stand firm, stand at a price (as COM-, stare stand)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cost Cost, n. [OF. cost, F. co[^u]t. See Cost, v. t. ] 1. The amount paid, charged, or engaged to be paid, for anything bought or taken in barter; charge; expense; hence, whatever, as labor, self-denial, suffering, etc., is requisite to secure benefit. One day shall crown the alliance on 't so please you, Here at my house, and at my proper cost. --Shak. At less cost of life than is often expended in a skirmish, [Charles V.] saved Europe from invasion. --Prescott. 2. Loss of any kind; detriment; pain; suffering. I know thy trains, Though dearly to my cost, thy gins and toils. --Milton. 3. pl. (Law) Expenses incurred in litigation. Note: Costs in actions or suits are either between attorney and client, being what are payable in every case to the attorney or counsel by his client whether he ultimately succeed or not, or between party and party, being those which the law gives, or the court in its discretion decrees, to the prevailing, against the losing, party. Bill of costs. See under Bill. Cost free, without outlay or expense. ``Her duties being to talk French, and her privileges to live cost free and to gather scraps of knowledge.'' --Thackeray.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cost Cost (k?st; 115), n. [L. costa rib. See Coast.] 1. A rib; a side; a region or coast. [Obs.] --Piers Plowman. Betwixt the costs of a ship. --B. Jonson. 2. (Her.) See Cottise.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cost Cost (k[o^]st; 115), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cost; p. pr. & vb. n. Costing.] [OF. coster, couster, F. co[^u]ter, fr. L. constare to stand at, to cost; con- + stare to stand. See Stand, and cf. Constant.] 1. To require to be given, expended, or laid out therefor, as in barter, purchase, acquisition, etc.; to cause the cost, expenditure, relinquishment, or loss of; as, the ticket cost a dollar; the effort cost his life. A diamond gone, cost me two thousand ducats. --Shak. Though it cost me ten nights' watchings. --Shak. 2. To require to be borne or suffered; to cause. To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe. --Milton. To cost dear, to require or occasion a large outlay of money, or much labor, self-denial, suffering, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cost Cost (k[o^]st; 115), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cost; p. pr. & vb. n. Costing.] [OF. coster, couster, F. co[^u]ter, fr. L. constare to stand at, to cost; con- + stare to stand. See Stand, and cf. Constant.] 1. To require to be given, expended, or laid out therefor, as in barter, purchase, acquisition, etc.; to cause the cost, expenditure, relinquishment, or loss of; as, the ticket cost a dollar; the effort cost his life. A diamond gone, cost me two thousand ducats. --Shak. Though it cost me ten nights' watchings. --Shak. 2. To require to be borne or suffered; to cause. To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe. --Milton. To cost dear, to require or occasion a large outlay of money, or much labor, self-denial, suffering, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cottise Cot"tise (k[o^]t"t[i^]s), n. [Cf. F. c[ocit]t['e] side, L. costa rib.] (Her.) A diminutive of the bendlet, containing one half its area or one quarter the area of the bend. When a single cottise is used alone it is often called a cost. See also Couple-close.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(costs, costing) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: The form 'cost' is used in the present tense, and is also the past tense and participle, except for meaning 4, where the form 'costed' is used. 1. The cost of something is the amount of money that is needed in order to buy, do, or make it. The cost of a loaf of bread has increased five-fold... In 1989 the price of coffee fell so low that in many countries it did not even cover the cost of production... Badges are also available at a cost of £2.50. N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n 2. If something costs a particular amount of money, you can buy, do, or make it for that amount. This course is limited to 12 people and costs £50... It's going to cost me over $100,000 to buy new trucks. VERB: V amount, V n amount 3. Your costs are the total amount of money that you must spend on running your home or business. Costs have been cut by 30 to 50 per cent... N-PLURAL 4. When something that you plan to do or make is costed, the amount of money you need is calculated in advance. Everything that goes into making a programme, staff, rent, lighting, is now costed. ...seventy apartments, shops, offices, a restaurant and hotel, costed at around 10 million pounds. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed • Cost out means the same as cost. ...training days for charity staff on how to draw up contracts and cost out proposals... It is always worth having a loft conversion costed out. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), have n V-ed P, also V n P 5. If someone is ordered by a court of law to pay costs, they have to pay a sum of money towards the expenses of a court case they are involved in. He was jailed for 18 months and ordered to pay £550 costs. N-PLURAL 6. If something is sold at cost, it is sold for the same price as it cost the seller to buy it. ...a store that provided cigarettes and candy bars at cost. = cost price N-UNCOUNT: prep N 7. The cost of something is the loss, damage, or injury that is involved in trying to achieve it. In March Mr Salinas shut down the city's oil refinery at a cost of $500 million and 5,000 jobs. ...being so afraid of something that you feel you have to avoid it whatever the cost to your lifestyle. N-SING: oft N of n 8. If an event or mistake costs you something, you lose that thing as the result of it. ...a six-year-old boy whose life was saved by an operation that cost him his sight... The increase will hurt small business and cost many thousands of jobs. VERB: V n n, V n 9. If you say that something must be avoided at all costs, you are emphasizing that it must not be allowed to happen under any circumstances. They told Jacques Delors a disastrous world trade war must be avoided at all costs. PHRASE: PHR after v [emphasis] 10. If you say that something must be done at any cost, you are emphasizing that it must be done, even if this requires a lot of effort or money. This book is of such importance that it must be published at any cost... PHRASE: PHR after v [emphasis] 11. If you say that something costs money, you mean that it has to be paid for, and perhaps cannot be afforded. Well-designed clothes cost money. PHRASE: V inflects 12. If you know something to your cost, you know it because of an unpleasant experience that you have had. Kathryn knows to her cost the effect of having served a jail sentence... PHRASE: PHR after v 13. to cost someone dear: see dear

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Require to be paid or undergone, take away from. II. n. 1. Expense, charge, price, outlay. 2. Costliness, preciousness, richness, sumptuousness, splendor. 3. Loss, detriment, damage, pain, suffering.

Moby Thesaurus

afford, amount, amount to, bereavement, bring, bring in, budget, budget items, burden of expenditure, carrying charge, charge, charges, come to, come up to, cost of living, cost out, cost-of-living allowance, cost-of-living index, costs, damage, dead loss, debit, denial, denudation, deprivation, despoilment, destruction, detriment, direct costs, disbursals, disburse, dispossession, distributed costs, divestment, expend, expenditure, expense, expense account, expenses, fetch, figure, forfeit, forfeiture, fork out, general expenses, get, go through, incur costs, indirect costs, injury, invest, labor costs, lay out, liabilities, loser, losing, losing streak, loss, material costs, mount up to, open the purse, operating costs, operating expense, outlay, overhead, pay, pay out, payment, perdition, price, price tag, prime cost, privation, put out, rate, replacement cost, robbery, ruin, run into, run through, run to, sacrifice, schedule, score, sell for, set one back, shell out, sink money in, spend, splurge, spoliation, squander, stripping, swindle sheet, tab, taking away, tariff, throw money around, total loss, total up to, unit cost