VALUABLE


Meaning of VALUABLE in English

val ‧ u ‧ a ‧ ble W3 /ˈvæljuəb ə l, -jəb ə l $ ˈvæljəb ə l/ BrE AmE adjective

[ Word Family: noun : ↑ valuables , ↑ value , values, ↑ valuation , ↑ valuer , ↑ overvaluation ≠ UNDERVALUATION , ↑ devaluation ; adjective : ↑ valuable , ↑ invaluable , overvalued ≠ UNDERVALUED , ↑ valueless , ↑ valued ; verb : ↑ value , ↑ devalue , ↑ overvalue ≠ ↑ undervalue ]

1 . worth a lot of money OPP worthless :

a valuable painting

Their most valuable belongings were locked in a safe in the bedroom.

⇨ see Thesaurus box on P.1942

2 . valuable help, advice, information etc is very useful because it helps you to do something:

Muriel has made a valuable contribution to our company’s success.

a job that gave him valuable experience

3 . important because there is only a limited amount available SYN precious :

I won’t waste any more of your valuable time.

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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)

■ nouns

▪ help

There can be no doubt that this sort of help is valuable for teachers.

▪ advice

The booklet contains valuable advice for new mothers.

▪ information

The police were contacted by a number of people who had valuable information about the bombings.

▪ experience

The experience you can gain in a small advertising agency will be very valuable.

▪ contribution

He made a valuable contribution to our work.

▪ asset

If you have a good network of contacts, you have a valuable asset.

▪ source

Fish are a valuable source of protein.

▪ tool

Exercise is a valuable tool in treating depression.

■ verbs

▪ prove valuable (=be valuable for someone)

This advice was to prove valuable.

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THESAURUS

■ worth a lot of money

▪ valuable worth a lot of money and expensive to buy:

a valuable piece of jewellery

|

The carpet is extremely valuable.

▪ priceless so valuable that it is impossible to calculate a price:

a priceless painting by Rembrandt

|

The statue is priceless.

▪ precious metal/stone precious metals such as gold, or stones such as diamonds are very rare and expensive :

Back in ancient times, coins contained precious metals.

|

The ring was set with dozens of precious stones.

▪ worth a lot/a fortune informal to be worth a very large amount of money:

Some rare baseball cards are worth a fortune.

■ very special and important

▪ precious very special and important to someone - used about people or things:

My family have always been precious to me.

|

His free time was very precious to him.

|

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.

|

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

|

The holiday was now a treasured memory.

|

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.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.