worth
worth - English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /wɜːθ/
- (General American) IPA: /wɝθ/
Adjective
worth (not comparable)
- Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.
- My house now is worth double what I paid for it.
- Cleanliness is a virtue worth more than others.
- A painting worth thousands.
- Deserving of.
- I think you’ll find my proposal worth your attention.
- His friendship is not worth having.
- (obsolete, except in Scots) Valuable, worthwhile.
- Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.
- This job is hardly worth the effort.
Usage notes
The modern adjectival senses of worth compare two noun phrases, prompting some sources to classify the word as a preposition. Most, however, list it an adjective, some with notes like "governing a noun with prepositional force." Fowler's Modern English Usage says, "the adjective worth requires what is most easily described as an object."
Joan Maling (1983) shows that worth is best analysed as a preposition rather than an adjective. CGEL (2002) analyzes it as an adjective.
Compare:
- Organic strawberries are worth paying extra money for.
- It's worth paying extra money for organic strawberries.
When "worth" is used as an adjective of a subject, the verb "to be" (usually associated with "worth") is singular or plural in accordance with the subject (in the first example, in the plural). In the other case, shown in the second example, the subject is the pronoun "it".
Derived terms
- for what it's worth, FWIW
- not worth a brass farthing
- not worth a Continental
- not worth a cress
- not worth a curse
- not worth a dime
- not worth a plug nickel
- not worth a whistle
- not worth the candle
- not worth writing home about
- unworth
- worth a try
- worth every penny
- worthful
- worth it
- worth its weight in gold
- worthless
- worth one's salt
- worth one's weight in salt
- worth one's while
- worth the risk
- worthwhile
- worthy
Translations
|
|
|
Noun
worth (countable and uncountable, plural worths)
- (countable) Value.
- I’ll have a dollar's worth of candy, please.
- They have proven their worths as individual fighting men and their worth as a unit.
- stocks having a worth of two million pounds
- (uncountable) Merit, excellence.
- Our new director is a man whose worth is well acknowledged.
- (uncountable) Wealth, fortune, riches, property, possessions.
- (uncountable) An amount that could be achieved or produced in a specified time.
- (uncountable, obsolete) High social standing, noble rank.
Derived terms
Translations
|
|
Alternative forms
Verb
worth (third-person singular simple present worths, present participle worthing, simple past worth or worthed, past participle worth or worthed or worthen)
- (obsolete, except in set phrases or dialectal) To be, become, betide.
- Woe worth the man that crosses me.
- Well worth thee, me friend.(May good fortune befall you, my friend.)
Derived terms
Anagrams
worth - Scots
Adjective
worth (comparative mair worth, superlative maist worth)
- Valuable, worth while.