worth

worth1 [ wɜrθ ] adjective

Worth usually follows the verb to be and is always followed by either a noun, pronoun, or number, or by the -ing form of a verb:

The painting is probably worth thousands of dollars.

It was a difficult trip, but it was worth it.

The movie was definitely worth seeing.

1. ) if you say how much something is worth, you state its value in money:

How much do you think the estate is worth?

worth ten pounds/$100/a lot etc.: a Gucci watch worth $1,500

I didn't think the furniture would be worth anything.

worth a fortune (=worth a very large sum of money): The building itself must be worth a fortune.

2. ) used for saying that there is a good enough reason for doing something, because it is important, enjoyable, useful, etc.:

be worth doing/having/seeing etc: The book is definitely worth reading.

We believe that our freedom is worth fighting for.

it is worth doing something: It's worth talking to your financial adviser before making your final decision.

worth a try/visit/look: Owen's plan was risky, but it was worth a try.

well worth: The Museum of Fine Arts is well worth a visit.

be worth it: It was hard work, but it was worth it in the end.

be worth the effort/time/trouble: It's a long way, and probably not worth the effort.

3. ) used for saying how good, useful, or reliable someone or something is:

be worth something/a lot/a great deal etc.: She knows that her loyalty is worth a great deal to Charles.

I'm afraid the government's promises aren't worth much.

a ) be worth your weight in gold to be extremely useful or valuable:

We have a team manager who's worth his weight in gold.

b ) something is not worth the paper it is printed on used for saying that something printed, especially a contract, is not reliable and has no value:

The guarantees aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

4. ) used for saying how rich someone is:

She is now worth 20 million dollars.

be worth someone's while

if it is worth your while to do something, you can get some benefit or advantage from doing it even though it may take some time or effort:

It's not worth their while when most of their profits go in taxes.

it is worth someone's while to do something: It's not really worth my while to do that for $150.

do something for all you're worth

to do something with as much effort as you can:

Paul began to struggle for all he was worth.

for what it's worth MAINLY SPOKEN

used when you are telling someone something and you are not sure how useful it is. This is sometimes shown in e-mails as FWIW:

For what it's worth, I don't think we can do anymore until we get more training.

make it worth someone's while MAINLY SPOKEN

to pay a reward to someone for doing something:

I promise I'll make this worth your while.

what's it worth (to you)? SPOKEN

used for asking someone what reward they will give you if you do what they want

=> SALT1

worth

worth 2 [ wɜrθ ] noun uncount

1. ) the financial value of something:

Houses are being sold at prices far below their true worth.

2. ) FORMAL how good, useful, or important someone or something is:

The NATO alliance has proved its worth over the years.

3. ) an amount measured by the financial value it has:

ten dollars'/$100 etc. worth (of something): The fire destroyed millions of dollars' worth of equipment.

a ) an amount measured by the time it lasts:

two days'/12 hours' etc. worth: five hours' worth of videotape