Cost Definition

kôst
costed, costing, costs
noun
costs
The amount of money, etc. asked or paid for a thing; price.
Webster's New World
The amount spent in producing or manufacturing a commodity.
Webster's New World
The amount paid for something by a dealer, contractor, etc.: a markup is usually added to arrive at a selling price.
Stoves sold at cost in a special sale.
Webster's New World
The amount of money, time, effort, etc. required to achieve an end.
Webster's New World
The expenses of a lawsuit, esp. those assessed by the court against the losing party.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
verb
costing, costs
To be expensive.
Webster's New World
To be obtained or obtainable for (a certain price); be priced at.
Webster's New World
To cause or require the expenditure, loss, or experience of.
Victory cost him his health.
Webster's New World
To have as a price.
American Heritage
To cause to lose, suffer, or sacrifice.
Participating in the strike cost me my job.
American Heritage
idiom
at all costs
  • Regardless of the expense or effort involved; by any means.
American Heritage
at all costs
  • regardless of the cost or difficulty involved; by any means required
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Cost

Noun

Singular:
cost
Plural:
costs

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Cost

Origin of Cost

  • Cognate with Icelandic kostur, German dialectal Kust (“taste, flavour”), Dutch kust (“choice, choosing”), North Frisian kest (“choice, estimation, virtue”), West Frisian kêst (“article of law, statute”), Old English cyst (“free-will, choice, election, the best of anything, the choicest, picked host, moral excellence, virtue, goodness, generosity, munificence”). Related to choose.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English cost, from Old English cost (“option, choice, possibility, manner, way, condition”), from Old Norse kostr (“choice, opportunity, chance, condition, state, quality”), from Proto-Germanic *kustuz (“choice, trial”) (Proto-Germanic *kustiz (“choice, trial”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵéwstus (“to enjoy, taste”).

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English costen, from Old French coster, couster (“to cost”), from Medieval Latin costare, from Latin constare (“stand together, stand at, cost”), from com- + stare (“stand”).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old French from coster to cost from Latin cōnstāre to be fixed, cost constant

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Middle English cost, coust, from costen (“to cost”), see below.

    From Wiktionary

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