INDEX:
1. expensive
2. extremely expensive
3. expensive and fashionable
4. when something is too expensive
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ CHEAP
worth a lot of money : ↑ VALUE
see also
↑ COST
↑ PAY
↑ BUY
↑ SPEND MONEY OR TIME
↑ SHOP/STORE
↑ RICH
◆◆◆
1. expensive
▷ expensive /ɪkˈspensɪv/ [adjective]
something that is expensive costs a lot of money, more than other things of the same type :
▪ She spends most of her money on expensive clothes.
▪ Do you have any less expensive cameras?
▪ Taxis are so expensive - that’s why I usually take the bus.
expensive to make/run/buy etc
▪ Movies are incredibly expensive to make these days.
▷ cost a lot (of money) /ˌkɒst ə ˌlɒt (əv ˈmʌni)ǁˌkɔːst ə ˈlɑːt/ [verb phrase] especially spoken
if something, especially something you do, costs a lot it is expensive :
▪ I managed to find the bike I wanted but it cost a lot.
▪ It costs a lot of money to go to medical school, you know.
cost a lot (of money) to do something
▪ Did it cost a lot to fly to Rio?
▷ high /haɪ/ [adjective]
if the price or cost of something is high, it costs a lot :
▪ Rents in central London are very high.
▪ The cost of living is higher in Denmark than in Germany.
▪ Increased production costs will mean higher prices for consumers.
▷ costly /ˈkɒstliǁˈkɔːstli/ [adjective]
a plan, activity etc that is costly is too expensive and wastes money - used especially about plans carried out by governments or companies :
▪ The finance committee rejected their plan because they said it was too costly.
▪ Caring for the park’s swans is a costly business - roughly $26,600 per year.
costly mistake
▪ Buying all those computers was a costly mistake.
▷ it’s going to cost you/it’ll cost you /ɪts ˌgəʊɪŋ tə ˈkɒst juː, ɪtl ˈkɒst juːǁ-ˈkɔːst-/ spoken informal
if you say it’s going to cost you or it’ll cost you when someone wants to buy something, you mean it will be expensive for them :
▪ You can get new parts specially made for these, but it’ll cost you.
▪ There are some places that can mend the suit in a couple of hours, but it’s going to cost you.
▷ not come cheap /nɒt kʌm ˈtʃiːp/ [verb phrase not in progressive] informal
to be expensive - use this especially when you think that even though something is expensive, it is still worth buying :
▪ Gibson guitars sound great, but they don’t come cheap.
▪ It would be great if we could hire her, but with all her experience, she won’t come cheap.
▷ pricey /ˈpraɪsi/ [adjective not usually before noun] informal
very expensive or too expensive - use this especially when you are deciding whether or not to buy something :
▪ Let’s not eat here - it’s too pricey.
▪ The tickets were kind of pricey, but the show was good.
▷ dear /dɪəʳ/ [adjective not before noun] British
expensive - use this especially about things you buy in shops :
▪ Those strawberries look a bit dear.
▪ The blue jacket is slightly dearer, but it’s much better material.
▪ No, you can’t have an ice-cream - they’re too dear.
2. extremely expensive
▷ cost a fortune /ˌkɒst ə ˈfɔʳːtʃ ə nǁˌkɔːst/ [verb phrase] especially spoken, informal
if something costs a fortune, it is very expensive :
▪ What a beautiful car - it must have cost a fortune.
cost somebody a fortune
▪ We had to eat out every night - it ended up costing us a fortune.
cost a fortune to do something
▪ It’ll cost a fortune to get that old car of his repaired.
cost an absolute fortune
▪ The hotel was great, but it cost an absolute fortune.
▷ cost a bomb/the earth /ˌkɒst ə ˈbɒm, ði ˈɜːʳθǁˌkɔːst ə ˈbɑːm-/ [verb phrase] British informal
to be very expensive :
▪ I can’t imagine how she affords to send her kids to that school - it must cost a bomb.
▪ Good shoes needn’t cost the earth.
cost somebody a bomb/the earth
▪ The divorce cost me a bomb.
▷ astronomical /ˌæstrəˈnɒmɪk ə l◂ǁ-ˈnɑː-/ [adjective]
a price or cost that is astronomical is extremely high :
▪ The painting was sold for an astronomical price.
▪ Tuition at private universities has become astronomical.
▷ cost an arm and a leg /kɒst ən ˌɑːʳm ənd ə legǁkɔːst-/ [verb phrase] spoken
to be very expensive :
▪ That carpet must have cost an arm and a leg.
cost somebody an arm and a leg
▪ Getting good health insurance these days costs an arm and a leg.
3. expensive and fashionable
▷ expensive /ɪkˈspensɪv/ [adjective]
an expensive hotel, restaurant, area etc is very fashionable and it is expensive to stay, eat, or live there :
▪ My uncle took us out to dinner at an expensive restaurant.
▪ The house is on West Boston Avenue, Detroit’s most expensive residential area.
▷ exclusive /ɪkˈskluːsɪv/ [adjective]
an exclusive area, school, shop, club etc is very expensive, and only a few very rich people have enough money to live there or use it :
▪ They live in Bel Air, an exclusive suburb of Los Angeles.
▪ The country club is very exclusive - you have to be invited to join.
▷ luxurious /lʌgˈzjʊ ə riəs, ləgˈʒʊ ə riəsǁləgˈʒʊ ə riəs/ [adjective]
a luxurious building or room is large, very comfortable, and has expensive decorations and furniture :
▪ a room in a luxurious New York hotel
▪ Atlantis is one of the world’s most luxurious cruise ships.
▷ fancy /ˈfænsi/ [adjective] especially American, spoken
a fancy house, car, hotel, restaurant etc is expensive and fashionable :
▪ You’d think a fancy restaurant like this would have better service.
▪ We stayed in a fancy Victorian hotel in San Francisco.
▷ posh /pɒʃǁpɑːʃ/ [adjective] especially British, spoken
a posh restaurant, house, car etc is expensive and looks as if it is used or owned by rich people :
▪ When I’m famous I’m going to stay in a posh hotel and drink champagne all day.
▪ She goes to a posh girls’ school near Brighton.
▷ upmarket especially British /upscale American /ˌʌpˈmɑːʳkɪt◂, ˌʌpˈmɑːʳkət◂ǁˈʌpskeɪl/ [adjective]
used or bought by people who belong to a higher social class or have more money than ordinary people, and therefore more expensive :
▪ I was surprised when I saw her apartment - I’d have expected a lawyer to have something a little more upmarket.
▪ New upscale shops and restaurants are driving some of the older businesses out of the neighborhood.
▷ classy /ˈklɑːsiǁˈklæsi/ [adjective]
fashionable, expensive, and used by people who have a lot of money or belong to a high social class :
▪ She took us to a very classy seafood restaurant in the old part of the city.
▪ The cafe’s interior has been redone and looks very classy.
▪ The Grand Union Hotel is one of the classiest hotels in this part of the country.
▷ plush /plʌʃ/ [adjective]
plush hotel/office/apartment etc
a hotel, office etc that looks expensive because it contains a lot of nice furniture, decorations etc :
▪ The firm’s headquarters is a plush $2.5 million office building on Woodside Road.
▪ the plush lobby of a four-star hotel
4. when something is too expensive
▷ can’t afford /ˌkɑːnt əˈfɔːʳdǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase]
if you can’t afford something, you do not have enough money to buy it or pay for it :
▪ I really need a new coat, but I can’t afford one.
can’t afford to do something
▪ We couldn’t afford to go on holiday last year.
can’t afford it
▪ Hiring a lawyer would be expensive, and she just couldn’t afford it.
▷ exorbitant/extortionate /ɪgˈzɔːʳbɪtənt, ɪgˈzɔːʳbətənt, ɪkˈstɔːʳʃ ə nə̇t/ [adjective]
prices, charges, rents etc that are exorbitant or extortionate, are very much higher than they should be, and you think they are unfair :
▪ The restaurant charges exorbitant prices for very ordinary food.
▪ Interest rates for some of the credit cards are extortionate.
▷ be a rip-off /biː ə ˈrɪp ɒf/ [verb phrase] spoken informal
you say something is a rip-off when you think someone is unfairly charging too much money for it :
▪ Eighty dollars for a pair of jeans? What a rip-off!
a complete/total rip-off
▪ The vacation package we bought ended up being a total rip-off.
▷ prohibitive/prohibitively expensive /prəˈhɪbɪtɪv, prəˈhɪbətɪv, prəˌhɪbə̇tɪvli ɪkˈspensɪvǁprəʊ-/ [adjective]
prices or costs that are prohibitive or prohibitively expensive are so high that people cannot pay them or decide not to pay them because they are too expensive :
▪ For most people, the cost of living in the centre of town is prohibitive.
▪ The computer was superior to other models, but it was prohibitively expensive.
▷ inflated prices /ɪnˌfleɪtɪd ˈpraɪsəz, ɪnˌfleɪtəd ˈpraɪsəz/ [plural noun]
prices that are much higher than usual and much higher than they should be, so that the person who charges them can make a big profit :
▪ Nightclubs often charge inflated prices for drinks.
at inflated prices
▪ Some people buy large blocks of tickets and then try to sell them at vastly inflated prices.
▷ steep /stiːp/ [adjective not before noun] informal
prices, charges, rents etc that are steep seem unusually or surprisingly high :
▪ I think £7 for a drink is a bit steep, don’t you?
▪ It’s hard to find an apartment around here, and when you do the rents are pretty steep.
▷ be daylight robbery British /be highway robbery American /biː ˌdeɪlaɪt ˈrɒbəri, biː ˌhaɪweɪ ˈrɒbəriǁ-ˈrɑː-/ [verb phrase] informal
if you say that a price or charge is daylight robbery or highway robbery you mean it is very much higher than it should be :
▪ I’m not paying £5 for an ice-cream - that’s daylight robbery!
▪ We knew it was highway robbery, but we had no choice but to pay.
▷ price something out of the market /ˌpraɪs something aʊt əv, ðə ˈmɑːʳkə̇t/ [verb phrase]
to make something so expensive that people will no longer buy it because they can buy something similar at a lower price :
be priced out of the market
▪ British electrical equipment is likely to be priced out of the market by cheap imports.
price yourself out of the market
▪ Ford don’t want to raise its prices any more - it’s worried about pricing itself out of the market.