New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
costly — adj Costly, expensive, dear, valuable, precious, invaluable, priceless mean having a high value or valuation, especially in terms of money. Costly, expensive, dear refer to the expenditure or sacrifice involved in obtaining or procuring a thing.… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
costly — [kôst′lē, käst′lē] adj. costlier, costliest [ME: see COST & LY1] 1. a) costing much; expensive; dear b) at the cost of great effort, damage, sacrifice, etc. [a costly victory] … English World dictionary
Costly — is a Honduran surname, and may refer to: Anthony Costly (born 1954), Honduran footballer Carlo Costly (born 1982), Honduran footballer This page or section lists people with the surname Costly. If an in … Wikipedia
costly — UK US /ˈkɒstli/ adjective ► costing a lot of money: »costly repairs »The delays in the schedule proved very costly. → See Note EXPENSIVE(Cf. ↑expensive) ► harmful, and involving a lot of loss or damage: »Their failure to cons … Financial and business terms
Costly — Cost ly (k?st l?; 115), a. [From Cost expense.] [1913 Webster] 1. Of great cost; expensive; dear. [1913 Webster] He had fitted up his palace in the most costly and sumptuous style, for the accomodation of the princess. Prescott. [1913 Webster] 2 … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
costly — [adj1] expensive an arm and leg*, cher*, dear, excessive, executive, exorbitant, extortionate, extravagant, fancy, high, highly priced, high priced, inordinate, precious, premium, pricey, steep, stiff*, top, valuable; concept 334 Ant. cheap,… … New thesaurus
costly — ► ADJECTIVE (costier, costiest) 1) expensive. 2) causing suffering, loss, or disadvantage: a costly mistake. DERIVATIVES costliness noun … English terms dictionary
costly — index harmful, inestimable, invaluable, priceless, sterling, valuable Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
costly — late 14c., from COST (Cf. cost) + LY (Cf. ly) (1). Earlier formation with the same sense were costful (mid 13c.), costious (mid 14c.) … Etymology dictionary
costly */ — UK [ˈkɒs(t)lɪ] / US [ˈkɔs(t)lɪ] adjective Word forms costly : adjective costly comparative costlier superlative costliest formal 1) costing a lot of money They have been investing in costly new equipment. a costly business/process/exercise:… … English dictionary
costly — adj. VERBS ▪ be, become, prove ADVERB ▪ extremely, fairly, very, etc. ▪ enormously … Collocations dictionary
