costly

adjective

cost·​ly ˈkȯs(t)-lē 

costlier; costliest

1

a

: commanding a high price especially because of intrinsic worth

costly gems

b

: rich, splendid

2

: made or done at heavy expense or sacrifice

a costly mistake

costliness noun

Synonyms

• big-ticket
• dear
• expensive
• extravagant
• high
• high-end
• high-ticket
• precious
• premium
• priceless
• pricey
• pricy
• spendy [chiefly Northwest]
• ultraexpensive
• valuable

Examples of costly in a Sentence

We use less costly materials in our products.

It was too costly to fix her car after the accident, so she decided to buy a new car instead.

They won the game, but their best player was injured, so it was a costly victory.

The decision to wait could be a costly mistake.

Recent Examples on the Web

Rather than sticking with costly legacy IT infrastructure, teams can opt for innovation. —Tal Dagan, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

As a result, 24,000 machines were unceremoniously abandoned, leaving the individual retailers responsible for the costly removal process. —Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 13 Dec. 2024

The Direct Express card helps people avoid costly check cashing fees and can easily be used to buy groceries, pay bills, and get cash at thousands of locations. —Susan Tompor, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024

But getting the technology to follow open-ended commands reliably remains a challenge, with the risk that errors could translate into costly and hard-to-undo mistakes. —Will Knight, WIRED, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

costly

adjective

cost·​ly ˈkȯs(t)-lē 

costlier; costliest

1

: of great cost or value

costly furs

2

: gained at great expense or sacrifice

a costly victory

costliness noun