worth

UK /wɜːθ/ US /wɝθ/

name 5adj 4noun 4verb 1

Collocations

(adj.)

VERBS

be | become | make sth

consider sth, think sth

I think that old painting might be worth having it valued by an expert.

ADV

really, well

That old painting turned out to be really worth the money we spent on restoring it.

certainly, definitely

barely, hardly, scarcely

The old bicycle was barely worth fixing after sitting in the garage for ten years.

almost | potentially | reportedly, reputedly

always

Visiting that museum is always worth the effort, even on a busy day.

PREP

Finding a reliable babysitter was worth so much to our family last year.

(noun.)

ADJ

real, true

intrinsic, objective

Learning a language has intrinsic worth beyond just getting a better job.

individual, own, personal, self | moral

economic, financial, market

The financial worth of the old painting was finally determined by the expert appraiser.

net | literary, musical

VERB + WORTH

have

prove

The new safety system has proved its worth by preventing several accidents.

affirm

His teacher's encouraging feedback affirmed his worth as a student.

find out, learn, realize

She didn't realize the worth of her grandmother's advice until she faced the same problem years later.

appreciate, know

After years of hard work, she finally came to know her own worth in the company.

doubt, express doubts about, question

assess, estimate, give sb an estimate of

The jeweler assessed the worth of the antique ring before offering to buy it.

PREP

of ~

The antique vase turned out to be of considerable worth, so the family decided to sell it at auction.

~ to

The time I spend with my grandmother is worth so much to me.

PHRASES

at sb/sth's real/true worth

His talent was finally recognized at its true worth when he won the international competition.

of proven worth

The company decided to hire him because he was a manager of proven worth.

a sense of (your own) worth

After years of therapy, he finally developed a sense of his own worth.

Definitions

adj

Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.

How much / What is your house worth? - Now it's worth half what I paid for it. So it'd sure would be worthwhile to repair before putting it for sale.

Cleanliness is a virtue worth more than others.

Deserving of.

This rickety beater of a car isn’t worth repairing anymore.

He found going to the Edinburgh Castle was worth it.

Valuable, worthwhile.

Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.

This job is hardly worth the effort.

noun

Value.

I’ll have a dollar's worth of candy, please.

They have proven their worths as individual fighting men and their worth as a unit.

Merit, excellence.

Our new director is a man whose worth is well acknowledged.

Manchester United's Tom Cleverley impressed on his first competitive start and Lampard demonstrated his continued worth at international level in a performance that was little more than a stroll once England swiftly exerted their obvious authority.

An amount that could be achieved or produced in a specified time.

Although most modern OTDR equipment can store at least eight days' worth of data (in line with current industry standards), when it was downloaded from the Class 57s involved, it was discovered they had stored just over eight hours' worth of data.

High social standing, noble rank.

VVhat bee they men of any worth or no? […] No my good Lord, they bee men of no great account, For they bee none but Tylers, Thatchers, Millers, and ſuch like.

verb

To be, become, betide.

Sonne of man, prophecie and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Howle ye, woe worth the day.

For, adds our erudite Friend, the Saxon weorthan equivalent to the German werden, means to grow, to become; traces of which old vocable are still found in the North-country dialects, as, ‘What is word of him?’ meaning ‘What is become of him?’ and the like. Nay we in modern English still say, ‘Woe worth the hour.’ [i.e. Woe befall the hour]

Thesaurus

Synonyms

Antonyms

worthlessness
ineptitude

Idioms & Phrases

worth one's while

Beneficial and important enough on which to spend time, effort, or money.

Doing volunteer work to help others is truly worth one's while.

not worth a brass farthing

Worth nothing or next to nothing.

One's own private knowledge of a man's character is not worth a brass farthing as legal evidence.

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

A sure thing is preferable to the mere chance at something more.

It is more sykyr a bryd in youre fyste Than to have thre in the sky above

worth one's salt

Adept or competent, especially at one's occupation.

Any doctor worth their salt should be able to correctly diagnose the illness.

worth one's weight in gold

Very valuable.

I find my dog is worth her weight in gold on those long snowy weekends when I can't get out.

Example Bank

How much / What is your house worth? - Now it's worth half what I paid for it. So it'd sure would be worthwhile to repair before putting it for sale.

Wiktionary

Cleanliness is a virtue worth more than others.

Wiktionary

A painting once thought to be worth thousands that is actually not worth much.

Wiktionary

I’ll have a dollar's worth of candy, please.

Wiktionary

They have proven their worths as individual fighting men and their worth as a unit.

Wiktionary

stocks having a worth of two million pounds; £2 million worth of stock

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, worth is marked as obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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