Word
costly
Phoneticscost·ly, stress on the first syllable
US/ˈkɑstɫi/
UK/kˈɒstli/
Definitions
01expensive
B2 · Upper Intermediate
adj. costing a lot of money.
adj. of high cost; expensive. Often used to imply that the price is higher than expected or justified.
“Buying a new car can be very costly when you include insurance.”
“The renovation proved more costly than the initial estimates suggested, forcing the family to dip into their long-term savings.”
Pitfall
The repair was very costly for me.
The repair was very costly.
While 'expensive' often takes 'for someone', 'costly' is usually used as a direct description of the item or event itself.
Antonyms
02causing loss or damage
C1 · Advanced Formal
adj. causing a lot of problems, damage, or the loss of something important.
adj. resulting in great loss, damage, or sacrifice; having negative consequences that are difficult to recover from.
“A costly mistake at work resulted in the company losing a big client.”
“The general's decision to delay the retreat proved to be a costly error that resulted in heavy casualties.”
Antonyms
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “costly” in context.
Verb
01. make a costly mistake
“The company made a costly mistake by ignoring the emerging market trends for too long.”
verb + adj + noun
02. prove costly
“The defender's momentary lapse in concentration proved costly as the opposing team scored.”
verb + adj
Adjective
03. costly to maintain
“While the vintage sports car looks stunning, it is incredibly costly to maintain.”
adj + infinitive
04. prohibitively costly
“For many small businesses, the legal fees required to fight the case were prohibitively costly.”
adv + adj
Noun
05. costly delay
“A series of costly delays in the supply chain pushed the project's completion date back by six months.”
adj + noun
06. costly error
“A single costly error in the software code led to a total system failure during the launch.”
adj + noun
07. costly litigation
“Both parties were eager to reach an out-of-court settlement to avoid costly litigation.”
adj + noun
08. costly items
Real-World Examples
“Governments have pledged costly aid packages to help the sector.” “Erin says when she posted about her costly decision over fertility treatment, she got thousands of comments from people who "can't believe this is even a thing".” “It is a costly procedure which often involves more than 30 vehicles.” Etymology
From Middle English costly, costely, costeley, equivalent to cost + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- C1 · AdvancedOxford
- Updated
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