cost

The word “cost” means to require the payment of a certain amount of money. In plain terms, what you have to pay, lose, or give up to get or do something.

“Cost” is pronounced kost (/kɔst/ in IPA).

Here is “cost” used in a sentence: “The repairs ended up costing far more than expected.”

Depending on how it is used, “cost” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “cost” comes from Latin. From Old French coster/couster, from Latin constare, "to stand together" or "to be settled at a price.".

“Cost” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Cost” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to require the payment of a certain amount of money.

Price is the amount a seller asks for something — the figure on the label. Cost is what you actually have to pay or give up to obtain it, and it can include more than money, such as time or effort. As a verb, 'to cost' means to require that payment from you.

For the money sense, it stays the same: the meal cost twenty pounds yesterday. 'Costed' is a separate business term meaning to estimate or calculate the cost of something in advance, as in 'the project was costed at a million pounds.' Mixing the two up is a very common mistake.

You use it whenever something requires payment: 'These trainers cost eighty pounds,' or 'Fixing the car will cost more than I expected.' It can also describe a non-money loss, as in 'that mistake cost him his job,' meaning it caused him to lose it.

Cost is the money something requires you to pay. Worth is the value it holds for you, which may be higher or lower than that figure. A cheap tool can be worth a great deal if it saves hours of work, while an expensive one may not be worth the price.