costly

adjective

cost·​ly ˈkȯs(t)-lē 

costlier; costliest

1

a

: commanding a high price especially because of intrinsic worth

costly gems

b

: rich, splendid

2

: made or done at heavy expense or sacrifice

a costly mistake

costliness noun

Synonyms

• big-ticket
• dear
• expensive
• extravagant
• high
• high-end
• high-ticket
• precious
• premium
• priceless
• pricey
• pricy
• spendy [chiefly Northwest]
• ultraexpensive
• valuable

Examples of costly in a Sentence

We use less costly materials in our products.

It was too costly to fix her car after the accident, so she decided to buy a new car instead.

They won the game, but their best player was injured, so it was a costly victory.

The decision to wait could be a costly mistake.

Recent Examples on the Web

And county officials hope to get out of a costly renovation bill — and to avoid the fallout that would come if the team left the ballpark. —Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 21 Sep. 2024

But in the long run, not leveraging AI at all will be even costlier. —Alon Goren, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024

Soon enough, if the Biden-Harris administration’s rules pass, using air freight could become increasingly costly, causing a shipping shift favoring maritime in the long term, Ben Tzion said. —Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 20 Sep. 2024

Intel shares are down 53% this year as investors express doubts about the company’s costly plans to manufacture and design chips. —Rohan Goswami,kif Leswing, CNBC, 20 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

costly

adjective

cost·​ly ˈkȯs(t)-lē 

costlier; costliest

1

: of great cost or value

costly furs

2

: gained at great expense or sacrifice

a costly victory

costliness noun