expensiveex‧pen‧sive /ɪkˈspensɪv/ ●●● S1 W2 adjective 
the most expensive restaurant in town Petrol is becoming more and more expensive. Photography is an expensive hobby.expensive to buy/run/produce/maintain etc The house was too big and expensive to run. For low-income families, children’s safety equipment can be prohibitively expensive (=so expensive that most people cannot afford it). Employing the wrong builder can be a horribly expensive mistake. Her husband had expensive tastes (=liked expensive things).—expensively adverb: She’s always expensively dressed.COLLOCATIONSadverbsquite/fairly expensive· The food’s quite expensive, but it’s really nice.rather/pretty expensive (=more expensive than you expect)· I think £1000 for a bed is rather expensive.very/extremely expensive· We ate at a very expensive restaurant.astronomically/phenomenally expensive (=used to emphasize how expensive something is)· Some new medical treatments are phenomenally expensive.hugely expensive (=extremely expensive, especially when you think something is too expensive)· The building is hugely expensive to maintain.ridiculously/outrageously/horrendously expensive (=extremely expensive, in a way that seems shocking)· Room service in the hotel was ridiculously expensive.extortionately expensive (=extremely expensive, in a way that is not fair or reasonable)· Houses in some parts of London are extortionately expensive.prohibitively expensive formal (=too expensive, with the result that most people cannot afford to buy something)· HIV medicines are still prohibitively expensive for sufferers in Africa.verbslook expensive· All of her clothes look very expensive.prove expensive· Their decision could prove expensive.nounsexpensive tastes (=a desire to have things that are very expensive)· His wife has very expensive tastes and his kids always want the latest things.an expensive mistake (=a mistake which results in someone having to spend a lot of money)· Choosing the wrong builder turned out to be an expensive mistake.THESAURUSexpensive costing a lot of money: · an expensive car· Apartments in the city are very expensive.· An underground train system is expensive to build.high costing a lot of money. You use high about rents/fees/prices/costs. Don’t use expensive with these words: · Rents are very high in this area.· Lawyers charge high fees.· the high cost of living in Japandear [not before noun] British English spoken expensive compared to the usual price: · £3.50 seems rather dear for a cup of coffee.pricey /ˈpraɪsi/ informal expensive: · The clothes are beautiful but pricey.costly expensive in a way that wastes money: · Upgrading the system would be very costly.· They were anxious to avoid a costly legal battle.cost a fortune informal to be very expensive: · The necklace must have cost a fortune!exorbitant /ɪɡˈzɔːbətənt $ -ɔːr-/ much too expensive: · Some accountants charge exorbitant fees.astronomical astronomical prices, costs, and fees are extremely high: · the astronomical cost of developing a new spacecraft· the astronomical prices which some people had paid for their seats· The cost of living is astronomical.overpriced too expensive and not worth the price: · The DVDs were vastly overpriced.somebody can’t afford something someone does not have enough money to buy or do something: · Most people can’t afford to send their children to private schools.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- an expensive restaurant
- Do you have any less expensive cameras?
- Movies are incredibly expensive to make these days.
- My uncle took us out to dinner at an expensive restaurant.
- She spends most of her money on expensive clothes.
- Smoking can be an expensive habit.
- Taxis are so expensive - that's why I usually take the bus.
- The house is on West Boston Avenue, Detroit's most expensive residential area.
- And here you will be seated in an expensive chair.
- And it's not one of their more expensive ones, either.
- College is more expensive and more critical to middle-class status than in the past.
- Comparisons reveal that further-processed fish products are more expensive than frozen raw fillets and steaks.
- It will be both a richer world and a less expensive one.
- Means testing was expensive, clumsy and time-wasting.
- Spartan carries important data from that experiment, which tested lighter and less expensive ways to put large structures in space.
THESAURUS
costing a lot of money: · an expensive car· Apartments in the city are very expensive.· An underground train system is expensive to build.
costing a lot of money. You use high about rents/fees/prices/costs. Don’t use expensive with these words: · Rents are very high in this area.· Lawyers charge high fees.· the high cost of living in Japan
[not before noun] British English spoken expensive compared to the usual price: · £3.50 seems rather dear for a cup of coffee.
informal expensive: · The clothes are beautiful but pricey.
expensive in a way that wastes money: · Upgrading the system would be very costly.· They were anxious to avoid a costly legal battle.
informal to be very expensive: · The necklace must have cost a fortune!
much too expensive: · Some accountants charge exorbitant fees.
astronomical prices, costs, and fees are extremely high: · the astronomical cost of developing a new spacecraft· the astronomical prices which some people had paid for their seats· The cost of living is astronomical.
too expensive and not worth the price: · The DVDs were vastly overpriced.
someone does not have enough money to buy or do something: · Most people can’t afford to send their children to private schools.
Longman Language Activatorexpensive something that is expensive costs a lot of money, more than other things of the same type: · She spends most of her money on expensive clothes.· Do you have any less expensive cameras?· Taxis are so expensive - that's why I usually take the bus.expensive to make/run/buy etc: · Movies are incredibly expensive to make these days.
especially spoken if something, especially something you do, costs a lot it is expensive: · I managed to find the bike I wanted but it cost a lot.· It costs a lot of money to go to medical school, you know.cost a lot (of money) to do something: · Did it cost a lot to fly to Rio?
if the price or cost of something is high , it costs a lot: · Rents in central London are very high.· The cost of living is higher in Denmark than in Germany.· Increased production costs will mean higher prices for consumers.
a plan, activity etc that is costly is too expensive and wastes money - used especially about plans carried out by governments or companies: · The finance committee rejected their plan because they said it was too costly.· Caring for the park's swans is a costly business - roughly $26,600 per year.costly mistake: · Buying all those computers was a costly mistake.
spoken informal if you say it's going to cost you or it'll cost you when someone wants to buy something, you mean it will be expensive for them: · You can get new parts specially made for these, but it'll cost you.· There are some places that can mend the suit in a couple of hours, but it's going to cost you.
informal to be expensive - use this especially when you think that even though something is expensive, it is still worth buying: · Gibson guitars sound great, but they don't come cheap.· It would be great if we could hire her, but with all her experience, she won't come cheap.
informal very expensive or too expensive - use this especially when you are deciding whether or not to buy something: · Let's not eat here - it's too pricey.· The tickets were kind of pricey, but the show was good.
British expensive - use this especially about things you buy in shops: · Those strawberries look a bit dear.· The blue jacket is slightly dearer, but it's much better material.· No, you can't have an ice-cream - they're too dear.
extremely expensive especially spoken, informal if something costs a fortune , it is very expensive: · What a beautiful car - it must have cost a fortune.cost somebody a fortune: · We had to eat out every night - it ended up costing us a fortune.cost a fortune to do something: · It'll cost a fortune to get that old car of his repaired.cost an absolute fortune: · The hotel was great, but it cost an absolute fortune.
British informal to be very expensive: · I can't imagine how she affords to send her kids to that school - it must cost a bomb.· Good shoes needn't cost the earth.cost somebody a bomb/the earth: · The divorce cost me a bomb.
a price or cost that is astronomical is extremely high: · The painting was sold for an astronomical price.· Tuition at private universities has become astronomical.
spoken to be very expensive: · That carpet must have cost an arm and a leg.cost somebody an arm and a leg: · Getting good health insurance these days costs an arm and a leg.
expensive and fashionable an expensive hotel, restaurant, area etc is very fashionable and it is expensive to stay, eat, or live there: · My uncle took us out to dinner at an expensive restaurant.· The house is on West Boston Avenue, Detroit's most expensive residential area.
an exclusive area, school, shop, club etc is very expensive, and only a few very rich people have enough money to live there or use it: · They live in Bel Air, an exclusive suburb of Los Angeles.· The country club is very exclusive - you have to be invited to join.
a luxurious building or room is large, very comfortable, and has expensive decorations and furniture: · a room in a luxurious New York hotel· Atlantis is one of the world's most luxurious cruise ships.
especially American, spoken a fancy house, car, hotel, restaurant etc is expensive and fashionable: · You'd think a fancy restaurant like this would have better service.· We stayed in a fancy Victorian hotel in San Francisco.
especially British, spoken a posh restaurant, house, car etc is expensive and looks as if it is used or owned by rich people: · When I'm famous I'm going to stay in a posh hotel and drink champagne all day.· She goes to a posh girls' school near Brighton.
especially British /upscale American used or bought by people who belong to a higher social class or have more money than ordinary people, and therefore more expensive: · I was surprised when I saw her apartment - I'd have expected a lawyer to have something a little more upmarket.· New upscale shops and restaurants are driving some of the older businesses out of the neighborhood.
fashionable, expensive, and used by people who have a lot of money or belong to a high social class: · She took us to a very classy seafood restaurant in the old part of the city.· The cafe's interior has been redone and looks very classy.· The Grand Union Hotel is one of the classiest hotels in this part of the country.
: plush hotel/office/apartment etc a hotel, office etc that looks expensive because it contains a lot of nice furniture, decorations etc: · The firm's headquarters is a plush $2.5 million office building on Woodside Road.· the plush lobby of a four-star hotel
when something is too expensive if you can't afford something, you do not have enough money to buy it or pay for it: · I really need a new coat, but I can't afford one.can't afford to do something: · We couldn't afford to go on holiday last year.can't afford it: · Hiring a lawyer would be expensive, and she just couldn't afford it.
prices, charges, rents etc that are exorbitant or extortionate , are very much higher than they should be, and you think they are unfair: · The restaurant charges exorbitant prices for very ordinary food.· Interest rates for some of the credit cards are extortionate.
spoken informal you say something is a rip-off when you think someone is unfairly charging too much money for it: · Eighty dollars for a pair of jeans? What a rip-off!a complete/total rip-off: · The vacation package we bought ended up being a total rip-off.
prices or costs that are prohibitive or prohibitively expensive are so high that people cannot pay them or decide not to pay them because they are too expensive: · For most people, the cost of living in the centre of town is prohibitive.· The computer was superior to other models, but it was prohibitively expensive.
prices that are much higher than usual and much higher than they should be, so that the person who charges them can make a big profit: · Nightclubs often charge inflated prices for drinks.at inflated prices: · Some people buy large blocks of tickets and then try to sell them at vastly inflated prices.
informal prices, charges, rents etc that are steep seem unusually or surprisingly high: · I think £7 for a drink is a bit steep, don't you?· It's hard to find an apartment around here, and when you do the rents are pretty steep.
British /be highway robbery American informal if you say that a price or charge is daylight robbery or highway robbery you mean it is very much higher than it should be: · I'm not paying £5 for an ice-cream - that's daylight robbery!· We knew it was highway robbery, but we had no choice but to pay.
to make something so expensive that people will no longer buy it because they can buy something similar at a lower price: be priced out of the market: · British electrical equipment is likely to be priced out of the market by cheap imports.price yourself out of the market: · Ford don't want to raise its prices any more - it's worried about pricing itself out of the market.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadverbs Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area.
· The food’s quite expensive, but it’s really nice.
(=more expensive than you expect)· I think £1000 for a bed is rather expensive.
· We ate at a very expensive restaurant.
(=used to emphasize how expensive something is)· Some new medical treatments are phenomenally expensive.
(=extremely expensive, especially when you think something is too expensive)· The building is hugely expensive to maintain.
(=extremely expensive, in a way that seems shocking)· Room service in the hotel was ridiculously expensive.
(=extremely expensive, in a way that is not fair or reasonable)· Houses in some parts of London are extortionately expensive.
formal (=too expensive, with the result that most people cannot afford to buy something)· HIV medicines are still prohibitively expensive for sufferers in Africa.
verbs· All of her clothes look very expensive.
· Their decision could prove expensive.
nouns (=a desire to have things that are very expensive)· His wife has very expensive tastes and his kids always want the latest things.
(=a mistake which results in someone having to spend a lot of money)· Choosing the wrong builder turned out to be an expensive mistake.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· Consumers began to find that they could afford more expensive commodities.
· He was always showering Louise with expensive gifts.
Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area.· He bought her a bottle of expensive French perfume.
· He took her out to an expensive restaurant.
· He was a man of expensive tastes. (=he liked expensive things)
(=be expensive or cheap) If we go by taxi, it’s going to work out very expensive.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB If we go by taxi, it’s going to work out very expensive.· Trendier than my Tissot Seastar, but not as expensive.· This is expensive, but not as expensive as piddling around.· Wind costs 10.9 cents, geothermal 11.3 cents and solar at 15.1 cents, was more than twice as expensive as nuclear.· It can be just as long, just as expensive as a real lawsuit, sometimes worse.· That it's expensive; it's as expensive as you want to make it.· That would tell you the politicians are about to vote on something that would be twice as expensive as the alternative.· Although the second method sounds like it gives twice the cover, it is far from twice as expensive.· Even if they keep within budget, nuclear plants are at least twice as expensive to build as coal stations.
· Pattern making is a highly skilled occupation and patterns can be extremely expensive to produce.· Privatizing to a monopoly is not only senseless but extremely expensive.· For example selective computed tomography could be performed instead of whole body scans, which are extremely expensive.· As for radon, Rudy said looking for radon in drinking water would be extremely expensive and might not help public health.· It is an extremely expensive process that, left unchecked, will go on for ever.· It was a formidable and extremely expensive task.· Reprocessing is a highly technically demanding and extremely expensive operation, involving the extraction of uranium and plutonium from the spent fuel.
· Her guides would have lemon squash because it was better for them and less expensive.· Buy margarine instead of butter; it is much less expensive.· The navy says that burial at sea is less expensive, demands less shipyard work, and is isolated from human activity.· A satellite that can stabilize itself would be less expensive than those that depend on steering jets.· It's not comfortable and, while it's quite big and quite cheap, there are bigger, less expensive alternatives.· What would make this task more efficient, less time-consuming, and thus less expensive?· You may well find some practitioners more or less expensive.· They are more convenient and often less expensive.-Buy in bulk.
· The real difficulty now is that risk insurance will be harder to buy, and will certainly be more expensive.· The smaller ones are more expensive and a greater delicacy than the larger ones.· Whether or not the employer should pay the excess for a more expensive substitution depends on the circumstances of the case.· The more expensive we make the United States, the fewer international visitors we will attract.· This is more expensive but it has a particular advantage in television coverage.· Whipped butter and flavoured butters are more expensive than butter weight for weight.· Had the debt been only slightly more expensive, those operations could not have taken place.· These ministers lost none of their fervor for souls, but they became less mobile and more expensive to support.
· Auctions were held to sell off the town lots, those nearest the station being the most expensive.· San Francisco remains the most expensive housing market, with a median home price of $ 264, 800.· Today she is one of the most expensive celebrities in the world.· They were far from the most expensive items in the Horwitch galley.· They are, generally speaking, the most expensive type.· A: $ 19. 50 is the most expensive seat other than luxury boxes.· The most expensive item consisted of several kinds of shellfish in a sauce and sounded as if it was better avoided.· The most expensive Senate campaign in 1996 was that of Jesse Helms, R-N.
· The flight to quality by investors has made equity financing prohibitively expensive for all but the soundest of companies.· Long-term nursing home care insurance is prohibitively expensive.· Buying new glass and having it cut to size can be prohibitively expensive for the home tank builder.· Pollen-moving wind would have been prohibitively expensive to manufacture.· The costs of computer software is not prohibitively expensive in addition, hardware costs have also fallen substantially.· But, given that penguins are relatively rare birds, that turned out to be prohibitively expensive.· For families of low income such items are almost certainly prohibitively expensive.· The newer ones, while they do not cause these problems, are prohibitively expensive.
· Overdrafts Asking your bank for an overdraft is cheaper than going into the red without permission but can still be relatively expensive.· One practical problem with the drug is that it is relatively expensive compared with phenytoin or phenobarbital.· The photocopying of typed sheets, although relatively expensive, gives clear and reliably consistent copies.· However the method is still relatively expensive and therefore its use is still restricted in Western hospitals.· Often they are in relatively expensive sites on high streets with costly business rates.· They are relatively expensive items - but not compared to plant downtime.· Thus the entire manufacturing process tends to be relatively expensive compared with other forms of production.
· Buses and underground trains were so expensive that it was no longer accurate to regard them as public transport.· He expressed surprise when he learned we were staying there because he thought it was so expensive.· Evaluating the toxicology of any new pesticide is now so expensive that few new compounds are reaching the market.· Space stations are so expensive that they can not be placed in short-lived, unstable orbits.· Local gentry and landowners found the gang's exploits so expensive and unremitting that measures had to be taken to apprehend them.· Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with nowadays.· As that is so expensive to collect, why not abolish it now?· Why a pair was so expensive just four years ago is something you could dwell on well into the night.
· Speculation that the Dolphin Centre could be used has been ruled out by Mr Boyle who says it would be too expensive.· They also say the 25-ton stainless steel casks used at some plants to stored cooled material above ground are too expensive.· And they're too expensive to buy.· Private doctors are too expensive for most workers, and government health department visits can span an entire day.· The air fare from London was too expensive for Maggie to come regularly.· And arguing that elections are too expensive is a helluva case for monarchy.· At around £5 per foot in 1964 it was not considered too expensive.· Retailers, however, say advertising is too expensive and smaller businesses can't always afford it.
· Nordstrom has not publicly put a cost on its plans, but they are going to be very expensive.· Rock excavation is obviously very expensive.· The price of eating out is similar to London but alcohol is very expensive.· Taking a very small issue public can be very expensive.· Yes, and it is very expensive.· Supply Chain Management Until recently, these inventory management strategies were implemented through very expensive computer systems and private networks.· Both drugs and other addicting things are very expensive and very easy to get, more so in London.· Rinse additives tend to be very expensive but are used in very low concentrations and are invariably mechanically dosed.
NOUN· I hear that all the older boys are driving big expensive cars and living the life of Riley.· One happy side-effect of manufacturing laughably expensive cars is, however, a certain price insensitivity in the product itself.· The Caterham has been an expensive car to run, although not prohibitively so.· Maybe he feels he merits and can now afford a more expensive car.· You began to see them in the expensive cars.· At £25,000, it is Caterham's most expensive car yet.· It was a big expensive car, must be some one for one of the neighbours.
· They all wore the most expensive clothes and had beautiful, long, curly hair.· They decided not to buy expensive clothes for the wedding.· And she is power dressing, wearing beautifully-cut, expensive clothes.· With his expensive clothes, elite education, and distinguished demeanor, he was different from the rustic and plain Avon folk.· When he did appear, just before opening night he looked an impressive figure in his expensive clothes.· One of the largest shops of the Diamond was Magee's, the tweed shop, which sold expensive clothes and souvenirs.· I bought such beautiful, expensive clothes.· There was a little wistfulness about these village girls when they looked at the rich convent girls in their expensive clothes.
· Once, the computer network was viewed as a means of sharing expensive equipment.· In many cases, expensive equipment is being discarded.· The report highlighted the under-utilisation of expensive equipment.· But while more sophisticated procedures may save time, they often rely on more expensive equipment.· This is particularly important when the installation of expensive equipment is contemplated. 3.· Those with older or less expensive equipment might find it useful.
· In the building and the big yard beside it there were cases of very expensive items.· They were far from the most expensive items in the Horwitch galley.· A folio edition was an expensive item, but even cheaper quarto editions of most writers were not available readily.· The most expensive item consisted of several kinds of shellfish in a sauce and sounded as if it was better avoided.· The expensive item slithered off his back like a shed snakeskin.· Typically, such delicacies will be among the more expensive items on a menu.· Longer floor tiles in front of expensive items will make her feel more relaxed and expansive.· More expensive items in the same range should be finely knotted and possess cleanly articulated and symmetrically arranged decorative forms.
· This could prove an expensive mistake.· For, as Richard said the wrong choice could prove an expensive mistake.· Neither of them was competent to do that type of business and they made an expensive mistake.· Aunt Tossie, ever loving, ever kind, had made an expensive mistake.· Instructing the wrong engineer can be a horribly expensive mistake.
· His wife had expensive tastes and the kids always wanted new clothes or bikes or games.· Mark had always had very grand, expensive tastes.· Mr and Mrs Field had expensive tastes.· He'd looked as though he had expensive tastes.· Muriel had already spoken to Stephen about Lily's expensive taste in soap.
· But for growers, it can be an expensive way of insuring against risk, suggests Mr Dickie.· High interest rates tend to make it an expensive way to borrow.· If this is true, it seems an expensive way of satisfying one's curiosity.· Spartan carries important data from that experiment, which tested lighter and less expensive ways to put large structures in space.· The dot.economy turned out to be just a more expensive way of selling old-economy goods at knockdown prices.· At $ 1 million each, a Tomahawk is an expensive way to blast beach fortifications.· You may by now have learned that this is probably the most expensive way to crash!· The detergent feeds often fitted are expensive ways of using chemicals.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► the biggest/tallest/most expensive etc ... on earth
- And she must have been fabulously rich to live in a house like this.
WORD FAMILYnounexpenditureexpenseexpensesadjectiveexpensive ≠ inexpensiveverbexpendadverbexpensively ≠ inexpensively
costing a lot of money OPP cheap: the most expensive restaurant in town Petrol is becoming more and more expensive. Photography is an expensive hobby.expensive to buy/run/produce/maintain etc The house was too big and expensive to run. For low-income families, children’s safety equipment can be prohibitively expensive (=so expensive that most people cannot afford it). Employing the wrong builder can be a horribly expensive mistake. Her husband had expensive tastes (=liked expensive things).—expensively adverb: She’s always expensively dressed.COLLOCATIONSadverbsquite/fairly expensive· The food’s quite expensive, but it’s really nice.rather/pretty expensive (=more expensive than you expect)· I think £1000 for a bed is rather expensive.very/extremely expensive· We ate at a very expensive restaurant.astronomically/phenomenally expensive (=used to emphasize how expensive something is)· Some new medical treatments are phenomenally expensive.hugely expensive (=extremely expensive, especially when you think something is too expensive)· The building is hugely expensive to maintain.ridiculously/outrageously/horrendously expensive (=extremely expensive, in a way that seems shocking)· Room service in the hotel was ridiculously expensive.extortionately expensive (=extremely expensive, in a way that is not fair or reasonable)· Houses in some parts of London are extortionately expensive.prohibitively expensive formal (=too expensive, with the result that most people cannot afford to buy something)· HIV medicines are still prohibitively expensive for sufferers in Africa.verbslook expensive· All of her clothes look very expensive.prove expensive· Their decision could prove expensive.nounsexpensive tastes (=a desire to have things that are very expensive)· His wife has very expensive tastes and his kids always want the latest things.an expensive mistake (=a mistake which results in someone having to spend a lot of money)· Choosing the wrong builder turned out to be an expensive mistake.THESAURUSexpensive costing a lot of money: · an expensive car· Apartments in the city are very expensive.· An underground train system is expensive to build.high costing a lot of money. You use high about rents/fees/prices/costs. Don’t use expensive with these words: · Rents are very high in this area.· Lawyers charge high fees.· the high cost of living in Japandear [not before noun] British English spoken expensive compared to the usual price: · £3.50 seems rather dear for a cup of coffee.pricey /ˈpraɪsi/ informal expensive: · The clothes are beautiful but pricey.costly expensive in a way that wastes money: · Upgrading the system would be very costly.· They were anxious to avoid a costly legal battle.cost a fortune informal to be very expensive: · The necklace must have cost a fortune!exorbitant /ɪɡˈzɔːbətənt $ -ɔːr-/ much too expensive: · Some accountants charge exorbitant fees.astronomical astronomical prices, costs, and fees are extremely high: · the astronomical cost of developing a new spacecraft· the astronomical prices which some people had paid for their seats· The cost of living is astronomical.overpriced too expensive and not worth the price: · The DVDs were vastly overpriced.somebody can’t afford something someone does not have enough money to buy or do something: · Most people can’t afford to send their children to private schools.