I. pre ‧ cious 1 /ˈpreʃəs/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: precios , from Latin pretiosus , from pretium ; ⇨ ↑ price 1 ]
1 . something that is precious is valuable and important and should not be wasted or used without care
precious seconds/minutes/hours/time
We cannot afford to waste precious time.
planes delivering precious supplies of medicine and food
our planet’s precious resources
2 . rare and worth a lot of money
precious gem/stone/jewel
a statue covered with precious jewels
3 . precious memories or possessions are important to you because they remind you of people you like or events in your life
precious to
The doll is cracked and worn, but it’s precious to me because it was my mother’s.
4 . [only before noun] spoken used to show that you are annoyed that someone seems to care too much about something:
I never touched your precious car!
5 . spoken used to speak to someone you love, especially a baby or small child:
Come sit by me, precious.
6 . American English spoken used in order to describe someone or something that is small and pretty SYN cute :
The kids gave me that ornament. Isn’t it precious?
7 . formal too concerned about style or detail in your writing or speech, so that it does not seem natural:
His early work is rather precious and juvenile.
—preciously adverb
—preciousness noun [uncountable]
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COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ time
My time is precious, and I don't want to waste it.
▪ seconds/moments/minutes/hours
We knew we only had a few more precious hours together.
▪ resources
The government has squandered the country’s precious resources.
▪ commodity
Water is a precious commodity.
▪ asset
The organization’s most precious asset is its staff.
▪ gift
Her illness made her appreciate more the precious gift of life.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ very special and important
▪ precious very special and important to someone - used about people or things:
My family have always been precious to me.
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His free time was very precious to him.
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the place where I kept my most precious things
▪ prized very special and important to someone, so that they want very much to keep them or obtain them:
The book was one of his most prized possessions.
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The shells are prized for their beauty (=are considered to be very special) .
▪ treasured very special and important to someone, especially because it is connected with someone they love:
the case in which she kept her most treasured possessions
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The holiday was now a treasured memory.
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a treasured gift from her grandmother
▪ irreplaceable extremely special and important, especially because it is the only one of its kind:
The manuscripts are said to be irreplaceable.
II. precious 2 BrE AmE adverb informal
precious little/few very little or very few:
I had precious little time for reading.