ˌwhite ˈelephant noun [countable]
[Date: 1800-1900; Origin: From the supposed practice of the King of Siam, who gave to people he did not like a white elephant, which cost a very large amount of money to keep]
something that is completely useless, although it may have cost a lot of money:
When the theatre first opened it was widely regarded as a white elephant.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

white elephant
something that has cost a lot of money but has no useful purpose.
The town's new leisure centre, recently completed at a cost of ten million pounds, seems likely to prove a white elephant.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

white elephant
a useless possession (that often costs money to maintain); a useless possession that is a nuisance or expensive to keep; a waste of money
The new airport is a white elephant and nobody wants to use it.

They are having a white elephant sale at the school next week.

The new airport was a white elephant which nobody liked to use.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

white elephant
n. phr. Unwanted property, such as real estate, that is hard to sell.
That big house of theirs on the corner sure is a white elephant.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲