Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - worth

~1 prep 1 be worth to have a value in money  (How much is the ring worth? | be worth -10/$500 etc)  (The picture is worth about two thousand pounds. | be worth a lot informal (=be worth a lot of money) | be worth nothing/not be worth anything)  (I don't think my stereo is worth anything | be worth a fortune informal (=be extremely valuable))  (Now they've found oil the land must be worth a fortune.) 2 be worth millions/a fortune informal to be extremely rich  (The man who founded CNN must be worth a fortune.) 3 be worth doing/reading/finding etc to be something that will be useful and helpful if you do it or read it etc  (a film worth seeing | It may be worth putting an advertisement in the local paper. | be worth it)  (I didn't write to Louise, because I didn't think it was worth it.) 4 it's worth doing sth used to say that someone should give the time or money needed to do something, because they will gain something useful  (It's worth taking your time when you visit the cathedral. | it's worth the time/effort)  (It's worth all the hard work you put in when you see so many happy children. | it's worth it)  (Have a medical every year, it's worth it. | it's not worth it)  (Don't get angry, it's not worth it. | it's well worth doing sth/it)  (It's well worth getting there an hour early, if you want a good seat.) 5 it's worth your/sb's while spoken used to say that someone should give the time or money needed to do something, because they will gain something useful  (it's worth your/sb's while to do sth)  (It would be worth your while to talk to the editor. | I don't sell French books, it's not worth my while. (=I would not make any money)) 6 make it worth sb's while spoken to offer someone money if they agree to do something for you, especially something dishonest  (Look, if you forget about the whole thing I'll make it worth your while.) 7 what's it worth? spoken humorous used to ask someone how they will reward you if you do something for them 8 for what it's worth spoken used to say that you are not sure of the value or usefulness of what you are saying  (My suggestion - for what it's worth - is that we buy a bigger car.) 9 for all you are/he is etc worth with as much effort as possible  (Tom kept pulling away at the rope for all he was worth.) 10 worth his/her salt doing their job well or deserving respect  (No translator worth his salt would rely on a bilingual dictionary.) 11 worth its/his/her weight in gold very useful or valuable  ( USAGE NOTE: WORTH WORD CHOICE worth, value Worth is common only after the verb to be and after words for amounts of something, as in $100 worth of damage | a week's worth of newspapers. As a noun it means the same as value but is a little old-fashioned and literary the value of life (NOT the worth). In an old story you might read a pearl of great worth GRAMMAR be worth is often followed by the -ing form of a v Is it worth running such a risk? (NOT ...worth to run...).| Niagara Falls is worth seeing (NOT ...to be seen). be worth while may also be followed by the -ing form of a v, or the infinitive It'll be well worth while you coming/for you to come (NOT ...worth while you come). ) ~2 n 1 value and importance, or value in money  (Eliot's poems are of more lasting worth than the plays. | The balance sheet will not show the current worth of the company. | ten pounds'/$500 etc worth of sth (=an amount of something worth ten pounds or $500))  (Dick cashed about a thousand pounds' worth of travellers cheques. | $4,000 worth of camera equipment) 2 ten minutes'/a week's etc worth of sth something that takes ten minutes or a week to happen, do, or use  (a quarter of an hour's worth of music | There's about a week's worth of work left.)