/ praɪs; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C , U ] the amount of money that you have to pay for sth :
Boat for sale, price £2 000
house / retail / oil / share prices
to charge a high / reasonable / low price for sth
The price of cigarettes is set to rise again.
He managed to get a good price for the car.
rising / falling prices
Can you give me a price for the work (= tell me how much you will charge) ?
I'm only buying it if it's the right price (= a price that I think is reasonable) .
Children over five must pay (the) full price for the ticket.
How much are these? They don't have a price on them.
It's amazing how much computers have come down in price over the past few years.
price rises / increases / cuts
a price list
—see also asking price , cost price , cut-price , half-price , market price , list price , purchase price , selling price
2.
[ sing. ] price (of sth) | price (for sth / for doing sth) the unpleasant things that you must do or experience in order to achieve sth or as a result of achieving sth :
Criticism is part of the price of leadership.
Loneliness is a high price to pay for independence in your old age.
Giving up his job was a small price to pay for his children's happiness.
3.
[ C ] ( in horse racing ) the numbers that tell you how much money you will receive if the horse that you bet on wins the race
SYN odds :
Six to one is a good price for that horse.
—see also starting price
•
IDIOMS
- at any price
- at a price
- beyond price
- everyone has their price
- not at any price
- a price on sb's head
- put a price on sth
- what price ... ?
—more at cheap adjective , pay verb
■ verb [ vn ]
1.
[ usually passive ] price sth (at sth) to fix the price of sth at a particular level :
a reasonably priced house
The tickets are priced at $100 each.
These goods are priced too high.
2.
price sth (up) to write or stick tickets on goods to show how much they cost
3.
to compare the prices of different types of the same thing :
We priced various models before buying this one.
•
IDIOMS
- price yourself / sth out of the market
••
SYNONYMS
price
cost ♦ value ♦ expense ♦ worth
These words all refer to the amount of money that you have to pay for sth.
price
the amount of money that you have to pay for an item or service:
house prices
•
How much are these? They don't have a price on them.
•
I can't afford it at that price .
cost
the amount of money that you need in order to buy, make or do sth:
A new computer system has been installed at a cost of £80 000.
value
how much sth is worth in money or other goods for which it can be exchanged:
The winner will receive a prize to the value of £1 000.
NOTE
Especially in British English, value can also mean how much sth is worth compared with its price:
This restaurant is excellent value (= is worth the money it costs) .
price, cost or value?
The price is what sb asks you to pay for an item or service:
to ask / charge a high price
• to ask / charge a high cost / value . Obtaining or achieving sth may have a cost ; the value of sth is how much other people would be willing to pay for it:
house prices
•
the cost of moving house
•
The house now has a market value of one million pounds.
expense
the money that you spend on sth; sth that makes you spend money:
The garden was transformed at great expense .
•
Running a car is a big expense.
worth
the financial value of sb / sth:
He has a personal net worth of $10 million.
NOTE
Worth is more often used to mean the practical or moral value of sth.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
the high price / cost / value / expense of sth
the real / true price / cost / value / expense / worth of sth
to put / set a price / value on sth
to lower / reduce / cut the price / cost / value / expense of sth
to increase / raise the price / cost / value / expense of sth
to drop / fall / go down in price / value
to go up / increase / rise in price / value
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : the noun from Old French pris , from Latin pretium value, reward; the verb, a variant (by assimilation to the noun) of earlier prise estimate the value of (see prize ). Compare with praise .