What does "cost" mean?
Amount of money, time, etc. that is required or used.
Cost
/ˈkɒst/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Amount of money, time, etc. that is required or used.
- Grammar: cost is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: price, afford, algorithmic complexity, amount.
- Useful contrasts: desirable, the joys of travel, advantage.
- Usage evidence: The cost of life increased drastically.
How to use "cost"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cost" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cost" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cost" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cost" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cost" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "price" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cost", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Amount of money, time, etc. that is required or used. countable, uncountable
"The total cost of the new complex was an estimated $1.5 million."
- 2 Manner; way; means; available course; contrivance. obsolete
- 3 A rib; a side. obsolete
"betwixt the costs of a ship"
- 4 the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold) wordnet
- 5 A negative consequence or loss that occurs or is required to occur. countable, uncountable
"Spending all your time working may earn you a lot of money at the cost of your health."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Quality; condition; property; value; worth; a wont or habit; disposition; nature; kind; characteristic.
- 7 A cottise.
- 8 value measured by what must be given or done or undergone to obtain something wordnet
- 9 the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor wordnet
Verb
- 1 To incur a charge of; to require payment of a (specified) price. ditransitive, transitive
"This shirt cost $50, while this was cheaper at only $30."
- 2 require to lose, suffer, or sacrifice wordnet
- 3 To cause something to be lost; to cause the expenditure or relinquishment of. ditransitive, transitive
"Trying to rescue the man from the burning building cost them their lives."
- 4 be priced at wordnet
- 5 To require to be borne or suffered; to cause.
"to do him wanton rites, which cost them woe"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To calculate or estimate a price.
"I'd cost the repair work at a few thousand."
- 7 To cost (a person) a great deal of money or suffering. colloquial, transitive
"I can give you the names, but it'll cost you."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The cost of life increased drastically."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cost"?
Common synonyms include: price, afford, algorithmic complexity, amount, amount to, amounts.
How do you use "cost" in a sentence?
The cost of life increased drastically.
How do you pronounce "cost"?
Pronounced /ˈkɒst/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English costen, from Old French coster, couster (“to cost”), from Medieval Latin cōstō, from Latin cōnstō (“stand together”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English cost, coust, from costen (“to cost”), from the same source as above.
Etymology 3
From Middle English cost, from Old English cost (“option, choice, possibility, manner, way, condition”), from Old Norse kostr (“choice, opportunity, chance, condition, state, quality”), from Proto-Germanic *kustuz (“choice, trial”) (or Proto-Germanic *kustiz (“choice, trial”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵéwstus (“to enjoy, taste”). Cognate with Icelandic kostur, German dialectal Kust (“taste, flavour”), Dutch kust (“choice, choosing”), North Frisian kest (“choice, estimation, virtue”), West Frisian kêst (“article of law, statute”), Old English cyst (“free-will, choice, election, the best of anything, the choicest, picked host, moral excellence, virtue, goodness, generosity, munificence”), Latin gustus (“taste”). Related to choose. Doublet of gusto.
Etymology 4
From Middle English coste, from Old French coste, from Latin costa. Doublet of coast and cuesta.