Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - worth

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If something is worth a particular amount of money, it can be sold for that amount or is considered to have that value. These books might be worth ?80 or ?90 or more to a collector... The contract was worth ?25 million a year. v-link worth amount 2. Worth combines with amounts of money, so that when you talk about a particular amount of money’s worth of something, you mean the quantity of it that you can buy for that amount of money. I went and bought about six dollars’ worth of potato chips... COMB in QUANT: QUANT of n • Worth is also a pronoun. ‘How many do you want?’—‘I’ll have a pound’s worth.’ PRON 3. Worth combines with time expressions, so you can use worth when you are saying how long an amount of something will last. For example, a week’s worth of food is the amount of food that will last you for a week. You’ve got three years’ worth of research money to do what you want with... COMB in QUANT: QUANT of n • Worth is also a pronoun. There’s really not very much food down there. About two weeks’ worth. PRON 4. If you say that something is worth having, you mean that it is pleasant or useful, and therefore a good thing to have. He’s decided to get a look at the house and see if it might be worth buying... Most things worth having never come easy. v-link worth -ing 5. If something is worth a particular action, or if an action is worth doing, it is considered to be important enough for that action. I am spending a lot of money and time on this boat, but it is worth it... This restaurant is well worth a visit... It is worth pausing to consider these statements from Mr Davies. v-link worth n/-ing 6. Someone’s worth is the value, usefulness, or importance that they are considered to have. (FORMAL) He had never had a woman of her worth as a friend... N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss 7. If you do something for all you are worth, you do it with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. We both began waving to the crowd for all we were worth... Push for all you’re worth! PHRASE: V inflects 8. If you add for what it’s worth to something that you say, you are suggesting that what you are saying or referring to may not be very valuable or helpful, especially because you do not want to appear arrogant. I’ve brought my notes, for what it’s worth. PHRASE: PHR with cl 9. If an action or activity is worth someone’s while, it will be helpful, useful, or enjoyable for them if they do it, even though it requires some effort. It might be worth your while to go to court and ask for the agreement to be changed... = worthwhile PHRASE: v-link PHR 10. worth your weight in gold: see weight