# worth

/ˈwɝθ/ (US) · /wˈɜːθ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/worth
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. financial value

adjective · CEFR A2

having a specific value in money.

For teachers: having a specified value; used predicatively to indicate the monetary price or exchange value of an object.

- The old gold ring is worth about five hundred dollars today.
- Experts estimate that the recovered shipwreck is worth millions, though the historical value of the artefacts far outweighs their potential auction price.

Usage: Always followed by a noun phrase or a number indicating value.

### 2. deserving of effort

adjective · CEFR B1

good enough for you to spend time, money, or effort on it.

For teachers: deserving of the time, effort, or attention required for a particular activity.

- It was a long walk to the top of the hill, but the view was worth it.
- While the initial investment is significant, the long-term energy savings make the solar panel installation well worth the expense.

Usage: Often used in the pattern 'worth doing something' or 'worth the effort'.

### 3. personal merit

noun · CEFR B1

the quality that makes someone or something important or useful.

For teachers: the quality that renders a person or thing highly useful, important, or estimable.

- The company quickly realised the true worth of their new employee.
- The true worth of a mentor is often only fully appreciated years later, when their advice finally resonates with a student's lived experience.

### 4. an amount over time

noun · CEFR B2

the amount of something that you can get or do in a certain period of time.

For teachers: the amount of something that can be produced, consumed, or achieved within a specified duration.

- She bought a week's worth of groceries so she wouldn't have to shop again.
- The hard drive contained ten years' worth of family photos and documents, making its recovery a top priority for the technician.

Usage: Usually follows a time expression with a possessive 's or s'.

## Examples

- The experts estimated the worth of the painting at one million dollars.
- After years of hard work, she finally felt that her colleagues recognized her true worth to the company.
- The intrinsic worth of the manuscript lies not in its physical condition, but in the unique historical insights provided by the author's private marginalia.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.