cost
[noun]
Synonyms:
- price, amount, charge, damage (informal), expense, outlay, payment, worth
- loss, damage, detriment, expense, harm, hurt, injury, penalty, sacrifice, suffering
[verb]
Synonyms:
- sell at, come to, command a price of, set (someone) back (informal)
- lose, do disservice to, harm, hurt, injure

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English Thesaurus: cost, price, value, charge, fee, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. cost¹ S1 W1 /kɒst $ kɒːst/ noun

1. [countable] the amount of money that you have to pay in order to buy, do, or produce something
cost of
the cost of accommodation
I offered to pay the cost of the taxi.
Insurance to cover the cost of a funeral is possible.
This doesn’t include the cost of repairing the damage.
The new building’s going up at a cost of $82 million.
low cost housing
the high cost of production
A cassette/radio is included at no extra cost.
The funds will just cover the museum’s running costs. ⇒ cost of living

REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually ask how much did it cost? or how much was it? rather than using the noun cost:
■ What was the cost of the accommodation? ➔ How much did the accommodation cost?
■ | I’ll find out the cost. ➔ I’ll find out how much it costs/is.

2. costs [plural]
a) the money that you must regularly spend in order to run a business, a home, a car etc
reduce/cut costs
We have to cut costs in order to remain competitive.
At this rate we’ll barely cover our costs (=make enough money to pay for the things we have bought).
the travel costs incurred in attending the meeting (=money you have to spend)
Because of the engine’s efficiency the car has very low running costs (=the cost of owning and using a car or machine).
b) (also court costs) the money that you must pay to lawyers etc if you are involved in a legal case in court, especially if you are found guilty:
Bellisario won the case and was awarded costs.
He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,200.

3. [uncountable and countable] something that you lose, give away, damage etc in order to achieve something
at (a) cost to somebody
She had kept her promise to Christine, but at what cost to herself?
social/environmental etc cost
They need to weigh up the costs and benefits (=disadvantages and advantages) of regulation.
He’s determined to win, whatever the cost (=no matter how much work, money, risk etc is needed).
We must avoid a scandal at all costs (=whatever happens).

4. [singular] especially American English the price that someone pays for something that they are going to sell Synonym : cost price
at cost
His uncle’s a car dealer and let him buy the car at cost (=without making a profit).

5. know/find out/learn etc something to your cost to realize something is true because you have had a very unpleasant experience:
Driving fast in wet conditions is dangerous, as my brother discovered to his cost!
⇒ count the cost at count¹(10)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. cost² S1 W2 verb
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: coster, from Latin constare 'to stand firm, cost'; ⇒ constant¹]

1. (past tense and past participle cost) [linking verb] to have a particular price:
A full day’s activities will cost you £45.
His proposals could cost the taxpayer around £8 billion a year.
How much would it cost us to replace?
not cost somebody a penny (=cost nothing)
It won’t cost you a penny for the first six months.
cost a (small) fortune/a pretty penny (=have a very high price)
It’s costing us a fortune in phone bills.
cost a bomb/a packet British English (=have a very high price)
What a fantastic dress. It must have cost a bomb!
Lighting can change the look of a room and needn’t cost the earth (=have a price which is too high).
Getting that insured is going to cost you an arm and a leg (=have a very high price).

2. cost somebody their job/life/marriage etc when something makes you lose your job etc:
Joe’s brave action cost him his life.
His strong stand on the issue could have cost him his job.
Bad management could be costing this club a chance at the title.

3. cost somebody dear/dearly to make someone suffer a lot or to lose something important:
A couple of missed chances in the first half cost them dear.
The scandal has cost Nicholson dearly.

4. (past tense and past participle costed) [transitive usually passive] to calculate the total price of something or decide how much the price of something should be:
We’ll get the plan costed before presenting it to the board.

5. it will cost you spoken used to say that something will be expensive:
Tickets are available, but they’ll cost you!

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

cost
noun
I. money needed to buy sth
ADJ. considerable, enormous, great, high, huge, prohibitive The high cost of energy was a problem for consumers. The cost of repairs would be prohibitive.
low | escalating, rising | basic | full, overall, total You will have to bear the full cost of the building work.
additional, extra She was unwilling to pay the extra cost to get a room to herself.
average A total of 3.6 million tickets at an average cost of $58 are available for the Games.
gross, net | estimated | budgeted | likely, potential | real | annual, monthly, etc. | replacement What is the current replacement cost of these assets?
capital, start-up (business) The capital cost of these projects (= what it costs to set them up) is some $100 million?then there'll be the operating costs.
marginal (business) Competition will drive the price down near to the marginal cost (= the cost of the labour and materials to produce the product).
unit (business) (= the cost of producing one item) | fixed, variable (business) Fixed costs include rent.
direct, indirect
VERB + COST bear, cover, meet, pay Allow £15 per day to cover the cost of meals. MPs receive allowances to meet the cost of travel.
increase, push up Inflation is pushing up the cost of living beyond our reach.
bring down, cut, lower, reduce | keep down | estimate, put I would put the cost of a new employee at £30,000 a year.
calculate, work out | reimburse
COST + VERB escalate, go up, increase, rise The cost of dental treatment is increasing.
fall, go down
COST + NOUN reduction, savings the pursuit of cost reduction
overrun There were cost overruns on each project.
base It is essential that we operate with the lowest possible cost base and most efficient facilities.
PREP. at a ~ of A new computer system has been installed at a cost of £80,000.
~ to The cost to the government will be quite high.
PHRASES an increase/a reduction in cost, at no extra cost The hotel offers tea and coffee at no extra cost.
cost of living The cost of living has risen sharply in the last year.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cost
II. costs: money needed to run a business/home, etc.
ADJ. considerable, enormous, great, high, huge | low | escalating, rising We have had to raise our prices because of rising costs.
administration/administrative, fuel, labour, operating, production, (research and) development, running, transport, travel
VERB + COST incur The corporation will pay all costs and expenses incurred with its written consent.
pay | increase | bring down, cut, lower, reduce The company has to find ways of cutting costs.
keep down The use of cheap labour helped to keep costs down.
cover We're hoping that we'll at least cover costs at the conference.
COST + VERB be associated, be involved the costs associated with buying and selling property
escalate, rise

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cost
III. effort/loss/damage to achieve sth
ADJ. considerable, enormous, great, heavy, huge They advanced a few hundred metres, but at a heavy cost in life.
dreadful, terrible the terrible cost of the war in death and suffering
real | environmental, financial, human, personal, political, social the environmental cost of nuclear power
VERB + COST outweigh Do the benefits outweigh the costs?
count The town is now counting the cost of its failure to provide adequate flood protection.
PREP. at (a) ~ (to) The raid was foiled, but at a cost: an injured officer who was lucky to escape with his life. He worked non-stop for three months, at considerable cost to his health.
at the ~ of She saved him from the fire but at the cost of her own life.
~ in I felt a need to please people, whatever the cost in time and energy.
PHRASES at all costs/at any cost You must stop the press finding out at all costs (= whatever it takes to achieve this).
to your cost He's a ruthless businessman, as I know to my cost (= I know from my own bad experience).

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cost
IV. costs: in a court case
ADJ. legal
VERB + COST incur Both sides incurred costs of over £50,000.
pay He was fined £200 and ordered to pay costs.
be awarded If you win your case you will normally be awarded costs.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cost
verb
ADV. fully, properly The project has not been properly costed yet.
PREP. at The programme was costed at £6 million.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cost

pay the cost of something
I’m not sure how I’m going to pay the cost of going to college.
cover the cost (=pay for something)
The money he had saved just covered the cost of the trip.
meet/bear the cost of something (=pay for something, especially with difficulty)
His family were unable to meet the cost of his operation.
afford the cost of something
We can’t afford the cost of a holiday abroad this year.
reduce/lower/bring down the cost
If you go later in the year, it will bring down the cost of your holiday.
cut the cost (=reduce it)
The government has promised to cut the cost of medical care.
increase/push up the cost
The new tax will increase the cost of owning a car.
the cost rises/goes up
The cost of electricity has risen again.
the cost falls/goes down
Airline costs have fallen considerably.
high/low
the high cost of fuel
the average cost
What’s the average cost of a wedding in the UK?
an extra/additional cost
At the campsite, many activities are available at no extra cost.
the full/total cost
Experts are still assessing the full cost of the disaster.
the estimated cost (=one that is guessed and may not be exact)
The estimated cost was in the region of £3,000.
the annual/monthly cost
This figure represents the annual cost of a loan.
labour/production/transport etc costs
They had to pay £30,000 in legal costs.
running/operating costs (=the amount it costs to run a business, a machine etc)
The new technology is cheaper and the running costs are lower.
borrowing costs (=the amount it costs to borrow money from a bank)
Interest rates and borrowing costs are likely to be higher next year.
the cost of living (=the amount you need to pay for food, clothes etc)
People are complaining about the rising cost of living.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cost
I.
verb
See VERY MUCH 2

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

cost
II.
noun
1.
BAD: That shop is always empty because the costs are too high.
GOOD: That shop is always empty because the prices are too high.

Usage Note:
PRICE · COST · COSTS · CHARGE · FEE · RATE · RENTAL · FARE · RENT
Price The price of something is the amount of money that you must pay in order to buy it: ‘I’m interested in the car, but the price is too high.’ ‘Food prices are relatively low at present.’
Cost The cost of something is the amount of money you must pay to buy, do, make or use it: ‘the cost of having the car repaired was £340.’
The cost of living (fixed phrase) = the general amount that the people living in a particular area or country have to pay for necessary goods and services: ‘In urban areas the cost of living tends to be higher.’
Costs Your costs are the total amount of money you spend over a period of time in order to make or produce something, or continue an activity: ‘Our costs have doubled over the last five years as a result of the increase in oil prices.’
Charge A charge is the amount of money that you must pay for a service or to be allowed to use something: ‘The waiter explained that the bill included a 10% service charge.’ ‘There is also a small charge for delivery and installation.’
If you do not have to pay for something, it is provided free of charge : ‘The company has offered to install the software free of charge.’
Fee A fee is 1 a charge that you must pay to be allowed to do something: ‘Most art galleries charge an entrance fee.’ ‘Every new student has to pay a registration fee.’ 2 (usually fees) a charge that you must pay for professional services such as those provided by doctors, lawyers, consultants, tutors, schools etc: ‘My parents couldn’t afford the school fees.’ ‘Last year alone, the company paid over $12 million in legal fees.’
Rate A rate is the amount of money that you have to pay for a service or for hiring something, especially one that is calculated on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis: ‘His hourly rate is £60.’ ‘For a five-star hotel, the rates are very reasonable.’
See also CHEAP 1 (cheap)
Fare a fare is the cost of a journey on a buss, train etc: ‘How much is the train fare from Toronto to Montreal?’ ‘She spends $20 per week on bus fares.’
Rent is the money you pay every week or month to live in or use a places that doesn’t belong to you: ‘The rent is £500 inclusive of bills.’

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2.
BAD: I'll be happy to pay the costs of the postage.
GOOD: I'll be happy to pay the cost of the postage.

Usage Note:
See Language Note above

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3.
BAD: They agreed to repair the damage free of cost.
GOOD: They agreed to repair the damage free of charge.

Usage Note:
See Language Note above

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4.
BAD: In London the cost of life is very high.
GOOD: In London the cost of living is very high.
BAD: The costs of living are always higher in city areas.
GOOD: The cost of living is always higher in city areas.

Usage Note:
See Language Note above

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

cost the amount of money you need to buy or do something. Cost is usually used when talking in a general way about whether something is expensive or cheap rather than when talking about exact prices:
The cost of running a car is increasing.
the cost of raw materials
price the amount of money you must pay for something that is for sale:
They sell good-quality clothes at reasonable prices.
the price of a plane ticket to New York
value the amount of money that something is worth:
A new kitchen can increase the value of your home.
charge the amount that you have to pay for a service or to use something:
Hotel guests may use the gym for a small charge.
bank charges
fee the amount you have to pay to enter a place or join a group, or for the services of a professional person such as a lawyer or a doctor:
There is no entrance fee.
The membership fee is £125 a year.
legal fees
fare the amount you have to pay to travel somewhere by bus, plane, train etc:
I didn’t even have enough money for my bus fare.
fare increases
rent the amount you have to pay to live in or use a place that you do not own:
The rent on his apartment is $800 a month.
rate a charge that is set according to a standard scale:
Most TV stations offer special rates to local advertisers.
toll the amount you have to pay to travel on some roads or bridges:
You have to pay tolls on many French motorways.
cost a lot
Their hair products are really good but they cost a lot.
not cost much
Second hand clothes don’t cost much.
cost something per minute/hour/year etc
Calls cost only 2p per minute.
cost something per person
There’s a one-day course that costs £80 per person.
cost something per head (=per person)
The meal will cost about £20 per head.
not cost (somebody) a penny (=cost nothing)
Using the Internet, you can make phone calls that don’t cost a penny.
cost a fortune/cost the earth (=have a very high price)
If you use a lawyer, it will cost you a fortune.
cost a bomb/a packet British English (=have a very high price)
He has a new sports car that must have cost a bomb.
cost an arm and a leg (=have a price that is much too high)
A skiing holiday needn’t cost you an arm and a leg.
be especially spoken to cost a particular amount of money:
These shoes were only £5.
be priced at something to have a particular price – used when giving the exact price that a shop or company charges for something:
Tickets are priced at $20 for adults and $10 for kids.
retail at something to be sold in shops at a particular price – used especially in business:
The scissors retail at £1.99 in department stores.
sell/go for something used for saying what people usually pay for something:
Houses in this area sell for around £200,000.
fetch used for saying what people pay for something, especially at a public sale:
The painting fetched over $8,000 at auction.
A sports car built for Mussolini is expected to fetch nearly £1 million at auction.
set somebody back something informal to cost someone a lot of money:
A good set of speakers will set you back around £150.
come to if a bill comes to a particular amount, it adds up to that amount:
The bill came to £100 between four of us.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cost to have a particular price:
The book costs $25.
A new kitchen will cost you a lot of money.
It’s a nice dress and it didn’t cost much.
be especially spoken to cost a particular amount of money:
These shoes were only £5.
be priced at something to have a particular price – used when giving the exact price that a shop or company charges for something:
Tickets are priced at $20 for adults and $10 for kids.
retail at something to be sold in shops at a particular price – used especially in business:
The scissors retail at £1.99 in department stores.
sell/go for something used for saying what people usually pay for something:
Houses in this area sell for around £200,000.
fetch used for saying what people pay for something, especially at a public sale:
The painting fetched over $8,000 at auction.
A sports car built for Mussolini is expected to fetch nearly £1 million at auction.
set somebody back something informal to cost someone a lot of money:
A good set of speakers will set you back around £150.
come to if a bill comes to a particular amount, it adds up to that amount:
The bill came to £100 between four of us.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

price noun [countable] the amount of money that you have to pay for something:
The prices in that shop are rather high.
You can have a two-course meal for a special price of £9.95.
cost noun [countable] the amount of money that you have to pay for services, activities, or things you need such as food and electricity:
The cost of the two-day course is $1,295.
Many banks are raising their borrowing costs.
a sudden increase in energy costs
value noun [uncountable and countable] the amount of money that something is worth and that people are willing to pay if it is sold:
The value of the painting was estimated at £500,000.
Fine wines may increase in value.
The shares have gone down in value.
highly priced (=expensive)
The clothes shops all seemed to be full of highly priced designer clothes.
reasonably priced (=not too expensive)
The food was good and reasonably priced.
moderately priced (=not expensive)
On the outskirts of many towns, you will find moderately priced motels.
competitively/keenly priced (=not expensive compared with similar things)
Lower costs meant that Japanese exports remained competitively priced.
modestly priced (=cheap)
There are some very modestly priced artificial plants to be had.
attractively priced (=not expensive)
These figurines are attractively priced at £32.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

rent to pay money to use a house, room, vehicle, piece of equipment, area of land etc:
He rented a room in a house on the Old Kent Road.
They flew out to New York and rented a car at the airport.
hire British English to pay money to use a car or a piece of clothing or equipment for a short period of time:
Why don't we hire a van for the day?
You can hire suits for weddings.
lease to have a legal agreement under which you pay money to a person or company in order to use a building, area of land, vehicle, piece of equipment etc for a fixed period of time :
They leased the offices from an American company.
The car is leased from BMW.
rent/rent something out to allow someone to use a house, room, vehicle, piece of equpiment, area of land etc in return for money:
She rents the flat out to students.
let/let something out to allow someone to use a room, house, building etc in return for money:
Some people don't want to let rooms to foreigners.
They let the house out while they were on holiday.
lease/lease something out to make a legal agreement which allows a person or company to use something that you own for a fixed period of time:
Santa Clara ' s Redevelopment Agency leased the existing city golf course to developers.
high
Rents in the city centre are very high.
low
Our workers get low rents and other advantages.
exorbitant (=extremely high)
Some landlords charge exorbitant rents.
fixed
The rent is fixed for three years.
affordable (=which people can easily pay)
The government plans to provide more homes at affordable rents.
the annual/monthly/weekly rent
Our annual rent is just over $15000.
ground rent British English (=rent paid to the owner of the land that a house, office etc is built on)
There is an additional ground rent of £30 per month.
a peppercorn rent British English (=an extremely low rent)
The colonel let us have the cottage for a peppercorn rent.
back rent (=rent you owe for an earlier period)
Mrs Carr said she is still owed several thousand dollars in back rent.
the rent is due (=it must be paid at a particular time)
The rent is due at the beginning of the week.
pay the rent
She couldn’t afford to pay the rent.
increase/raise the rent (also put up the rent British English)
The landlord wants to put up the rent.
fall behind with the rent/get behind on the rent (=fail to pay your rent on time)
You could be evicted if you fall behind with the rent.
collect the rent
His job is to collect the rents from the tenants.
the rent increases/goes up
The rent has gone up by over 50% in the last two years.
a rent increase
How can they justify such big rent increases?
rent arrears British English (=money that you owe because you have not paid your rent)
The most common debts were rent arrears.
a rent book British English (=a book that shows the payments you have made in rent)
cost the amount of money you need to buy or do something. Cost is usually used when talking in a general way about whether something is expensive or cheap rather than when talking about exact prices:
The cost of running a car is increasing.
the cost of raw materials
price the amount of money you must pay for something that is for sale:
They sell good-quality clothes at reasonable prices.
the price of a plane ticket to New York
value the amount of money that something is worth:
A new kitchen can increase the value of your home.
charge the amount that you have to pay for a service or to use something:
Hotel guests may use the gym for a small charge.
bank charges
fee the amount you have to pay to enter a place or join a group, or for the services of a professional person such as a lawyer or a doctor:
There is no entrance fee.
The membership fee is £125 a year.
legal fees
fare the amount you have to pay to travel somewhere by bus, plane, train etc:
I didn’t even have enough money for my bus fare.
fare increases
rate a charge that is set according to a standard scale:
Most TV stations offer special rates to local advertisers.
toll the amount you have to pay to travel on some roads or bridges:
You have to pay tolls on many French motorways.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲