Word
expensive
Phoneticsex·pen·sive, stress on the second syllable
US/ɪkˈspɛnsɪv/
UK/ɛkspˈɛnsɪv/
Definitions
01high price
A1 · Beginner
adj. costing a lot of money.
adj. having a high price or requiring a large financial expenditure.
日本語:高い※
“I wanted to buy the new phone, but it was too expensive for me.”
“The city's real estate market has become so expensive that many young professionals are forced to commute from the outer suburbs.”
Usage
Commonly used with 'too' or 'very' to indicate a price that is difficult to afford.
Pitfall
The price of the car is very expensive.
The car is very expensive.
In English, objects are 'expensive', but prices are 'high'. You cannot say a price is expensive.
Antonyms
02resource-heavy
C1 · Advanced Computing Technical
adj. using a lot of a computer's power, memory, or time.
adj. requiring significant computational resources, such as processing power, memory, or execution time.
“Running this complex search is very expensive for the server.”
“The developer refactored the code because the original sorting algorithm was too computationally expensive for mobile devices.”
Usage
Often used to describe specific functions, algorithms, or database queries.
Teaching tip
In a technical context, 'expensive' refers to efficiency rather than money.
Antonyms
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “expensive” in context.
Etymology
From Latin *expēnsīvus, from expendō (“to weigh out (money), to pay out”) (whence English expend). By surface analysis, expense + -ive. In the sense of "high-priced" has largely displaced dear.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
Related words
Idioms
01. expensive drunk
Domain
- 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.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL 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: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- A1 · BeginnerOxford
- Updated
- アルファベット
- 読み方の一覧 →
QR code
englishreference.com/q/expensive
※ 機械で選んだ訳語です。ネイティブスピーカーによる確認はまだです。
「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0