English Reference

Word

value

Phoneticsval·ue, stress on the first syllable

US/ˈvæɫju/

UK/vˈæljuː/

Definitions

01worth or price

B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the amount of money something is worth, or how useful it is.

n. the material or monetary worth of an item; the quality that renders something desirable or useful.

“The market value of the house has increased significantly over the last five years.”

“The appraiser struggled to determine the exact market value of the antique, given its unique provenance and the lack of comparable sales.”

Synonyms

Antonyms

worthlessness

02personal beliefs

B1 · Intermediate Plural noun

n. the principles or standards that you think are important in life.

n. the moral principles and beliefs or accepted standards of a person or social group.

“The school aims to teach children traditional values like honesty and respect.”

“The company's core values are reflected in its commitment to environmental sustainability and ethical sourcing across all departments.”

Usage

Usually used in the plural form 'values'.

03mathematical quantity

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Mathematics Technical

n. a number or amount that is found by measuring or calculating.

n. a numerical quantity or other mathematical object assigned to or calculated for a variable or constant.

“You need to find the value of x in this equation to solve the problem.”

“The algorithm calculates the optimal value for the parameters by iteratively reducing the margin of error in the dataset.”

04color darkness

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Art Technical

n. how light or dark a color is in a painting or photograph.

n. the relative lightness or darkness of a color, also known as tone or luminosity.

“The artist used different values of blue to create a sense of depth in the ocean.”

“By manipulating the values of the background, the painter successfully directed the viewer's eye toward the brightly lit central figure.”

05to appreciate

B1 · Intermediate

v. to think that someone or something is important or useful.

v. to regard someone or something as being of great worth or importance.

“I really value your advice because you have so much experience.”

“The organization values diversity and actively seeks to recruit employees from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.”

Antonyms

06to estimate worth

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to decide how much money something is worth.

v. to estimate the monetary worth of an item or property.

“The jewelry was valued at over five thousand dollars for insurance purposes.”

“Independent experts were brought in to value the company's assets before the merger could be finalized.”

Usage

Often used in the passive voice.

Synonyms

appraiseassessestimate

Collocations

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “value” in context.

Verb

01. emphasise value

“The teacher wanted to emphasise the value of hard work.”

verb + noun

02. enhance value

“Renovating the kitchen will enhance the value of your home.”

verb + noun

03. highly value

“I highly value your opinion on this matter.”

adv + verb

Adjective

04. absolute value

“In mathematics, the absolute value of a number is its distance from zero.”

adj + noun

05. considerable value

“This antique furniture is of considerable value to collectors.”

adj + noun

06. cultural value

“The museum protects items of great cultural value.”

adj + noun

07. expected value

“The expected value of the investment was higher than the actual return.”

adj + noun

08. given value

“You must calculate the result for a given value of X.”

adj + noun

09. limited value

“This information is of limited value because it is outdated.”

adj + noun

10. low value

“The shop sells low value items like stickers and pens.”

adj + noun

11. negative value

“The temperature reached a negative value during the night.”

adj + noun

Noun

12. core value

“Honesty is a core value of our company.”

noun + noun

Real-World Examples

“The value of the house has been put at 200,000 pounds.”
BBC Learning English 1 Oct 2026
“Inflation has remained high for several years, and U.S. consumers have become more focused on value.”
Reuters 23 Jul 2026

Etymology

From Middle English valew, value, from Old French value, feminine past participle of valoir, from Latin valēre (“be strong, be worth”), from Proto-Italic walēō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂welh₁- (“to be strong”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Word family

NOUN

value(B1)

ADJECTIVE

Related words

Idioms

Domains

ArtMathematicsMusicPhysics

This entry

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.B1 PreliminaryIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.4.0–5.0TOEFL 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: 3.0–3.544–71TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.550–784EikenEikenTest in Practical English ProficiencyThe English proficiency test from the Eiken Foundation of Japan, widely taken by Japanese students. Grades run from 5 to 1, with Pre-1 and Pre-2 between them.Grade 2
Frequency
Very common
Level
B1 · IntermediateOxford
Updated

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English Reference