/ ˈvæljuəbl; NAmE / adjective
1.
valuable (to sb/sth) very useful or important :
a valuable experience
The book provides valuable information on recent trends.
This advice was to prove valuable .
2.
worth a lot of money :
valuable antiques
Luckily, nothing valuable was stolen.
OPP valueless , worthless
—compare invaluable , priceless
••
SYNONYMS
valuable
precious ♦ prized ♦ priceless ♦ irreplaceable
These words all describe sth that is worth a lot of money or very important to sb.
valuable
worth a lot of money:
The thieves took three pieces of valuable jewellery.
precious
rare and worth a lot of money; loved or valued very much:
a precious Chinese vase, valued at half a million pounds
•
precious memories of our time together
prized
[only before noun] loved or valued very much:
I lost some of my most prized possessions in the fire.
priceless
extremely valuable; loved or valued very much:
a priceless collection of antiques
irreplaceable
too valuable or special to be replaced
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
valuable / precious / prized for sth
valuable / precious / prized / priceless / irreplaceable possessions
valuable / precious / priceless antiques / jewels / jewellery
precious / prized / priceless memories
really valuable / precious / prized / priceless
extremely / highly / very valuable / precious / prized
absolutely priceless / irreplaceable
quite / rather / incredibly valuable / precious