I. ˈwərth, ˈwə̄th, ˈwəith intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English worthen, from Old English weorthan, wurthan; akin to Old High German werdan to become, Old Norse vertha, Gothic wairthan, Latin vertere to turn, Sanskrit vartate it is turned, happens, Lithuanian versti to turn, virsti to fall, become
archaic : to come to be : become — usually used in the phrase woe worth with a following noun or pronoun
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English weorth of (a specified) value, worthy; akin to Old High German werd worth, worthy, Old Norse verthr, Gothic wairths, Old English wierthe worth, worthy
1. archaic : having monetary or material value
my time or labor was little worth — Daniel Defoe
2. archaic : exhibiting or marked by desirable or useful qualities : estimable
she is a woman more worth than any man — Shakespeare
whose life, whose thoughts were little worth — Alfred Tennyson
III. preposition
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English weorth, adjective
1.
a. : having the value of : equal in value to
the horse is worth $300
grants in … the state were to be worth millions in timber and iron — American Guide Series: Minnesota
decide whether they are worth the price asked — S.H.Adams
the matter is not worth a straw
what's it worth
b. : having possessions or income equal to : equal in worth to : possessed of
he is worth at least $500,000
was worth a small fortune — Angus Macleod
2. : furnishing an equivalent for : justifying the expenditure or exchange of
are incentives worth the effort — Bruce Payne
doesn't think he's worth a damn — Hamilton Basso
3. : deserving of
such books are worth deliberate and thoughtful perusal — L.R.McColvin
the scene is well worth a visit — Ted Sumner
ideals worth fighting for
the question of what emotions are worth expressing — C.W.H.Johnson
hardly worth our attention
4. : capable of
ran for all he was worth
•
- worth one's salt
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English weorth; akin to Old High German wert value, price, worth, Old Norse verth, Gothic wairth; all from a prehistoric substantive use of the adjective represented by Gothic wairths worth, worthy
1.
a. : monetary value
mining operations of tremendous worth — R.L.Taylor
farmhouse and lands of little worth
b. : the equivalent of a specified amount or figure
a penny's worth of wine — E.O.Hauser
$130 worth of corn and alfalfa — Clyde Hostetter
insuring that the government gets its money's worth — T.W.Arnold
an hour's worth of hard labor
2. : the usually relative value of something measured or judged by its qualities or by the esteem with which it is regarded
device that proved its worth — C.L.Boltz
collections of independent essays or chapters of varying worth — F.N.Robinson
the ultimate worth of elaborate techniques — Howard M. Jones
the ultimate test of true worth is pleasure — G.L.Dickinson
3.
a. : moral, intellectual, or personal value
inspired by a sense of individual human worth — George Woodcock
the child … whose dignity and worth are respected — Dorothy Barclay
problem of aging is to retain a sense of worth — George Lawton
b. : merit , excellence
most colleges offer scholarships on the basis of need and worth
work at which they have proved their worth and their competence — F.J.R.Rodd
propensity is to build up reputations beyond their intrinsic worth — Atlantic
4. : the value of one's material possessions : wealth , riches
his personal worth is estimated at five million
Synonyms: see value